J-NRLF 


BETIBIXG  FROM  BUSINESS; 


OB, 


Alan's 


BY  T.  S.  ARTHUR, 


AUTHOR  OF  "KEEPING  rp  APPEARANCES,"  "TUB  •SOITNG  irtrsio 
TEACHER,"  "LADY  AT  HOME,"  ETC. 


NEW    EDITION. 


i       ->     •>       •>•>»,»     >  '•»    * 
NEW    YOflK: 


133    WILLIAM    STEEET 
1859. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S4S, 

BY  BAKER  &  SCEIBNER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  tho 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


PAQg, 

CHAPTER  I. 

*EASONS  TOR  RETIRING 5 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  STEP  TAKEN      20 

CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST  KFFECTS    28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  TRIP  TO  SARATOGA  . 36 

CHAPTER  V. 

DISAPPOINTMENT    52 

CHAPTER  VI. 

AN  UNWELCOME  VISITOR     62 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  CHANGE  PROPOSED (VT 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
MODEL  FARMING 75 

CHAPTER  IX. 

TAKEN  IN yj 

CHAPTER  X. 

SOME  OF  THE  FRUITS 89 

CHAPTER  XI. 

GOING  ASTRAY 98 


M119136 


nr  CUNT  K  NTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XIL 

A  FALSE  STEP 108 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

TROUBLE  IN  EARNEST 116 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

4  RETURN .       125 

CHAPTER  XV. 

A  NEW  ENTERPRISE 136 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  RESULT 144 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

ALL  LOST 149 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WTO  BUSINESS,  AND  A3AIN  USEFUL  AND  HAPPY   .  .  •  «       1!V8 


RETIRING  FROM  BUSINESS 

« 

CHAPTER   I. 

REASONS    FOB   RETIRING. 

FOR  twenty-five  years,  Howard  Franklin  had 
been  the  manufacturer  of  a  useful  article.  In 
dustrious,  shrewd,  and  prudent,  from  a  small 
beginning,  his  busines*1  had  grown  into  Impor 
tance,  and  at  the  age  of  fifty  he  found  himself 
worth  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  had 
happened  in  his  case,  as  it  sometimes  happens 
with  men,  tnat  everything  he  engaged  in,  pros 
pered  ;  and  this  Mr.  Franklin  confidently 
attributed  to  his  own  superior  intelligence.  To 
some  extent  he  was  right ;  for,  thinking  only  of 
business,  it  was  but  rational  that  he  should  see 
more  clearly,  and  as  a  consequence,  operate 
with  more  certainty  of  success,  than  men  whose 
attention  was  often  turned,  with  interest,  to 
mutters  and  things  entirely  apart  from  their 


HJ3TIEING-  J-ROM    BUSINESS. 

regulai  pursuits.  But,  all  was  not  from  human 
prudence  in  his  case;  all  is  not  from  human 
prudence  in  any  case.  Men  are  often  permitted 
to  obtain  wealth,  in  order  that  its  possession 
may  correct  the  false  ideas  they  hold  in  regard 
to  money  as  the  greatest  good ;  and  such  men 
are,  in  all  cases,  more  unhappy  as  rich  men, 
than  they  were  as  poor  men. 

The  effect  of  wealth  upon  the  minds  of  those 
who  acquire  it  by  their  own  exertions,  always 
depends  upon  the  end  which  prompted  to  its 
attainment ;  and  this,  in  a  measure,  explains  the 
meaning  of  the  different  aspects  presented  in 
the  affairs,  personal,  social,  and  otherwise,  of 
men  who  have  risen  from  moderate  circumstan 
ces  into  affluence.  Some  men,  as  their  exter 
nal  circumstances  improve,  use  the  means  that 
come  into  their  hands  with  a  generous  reference 
to  the  common  good  ;  while  others  never  spend 
a  dollar,  that  is  not  intended  to  gratify  some 
selfish  desire,  while  their  acts  of  apparent  bene 
volence  are  merely  propitiatory,  and  intended 
to  "cover  a  multitude  of  sins."  It  is  but 
natural  to  conclude,  as,  under  Providence,  all 
man's  external  circumstances  are  intended  to 
react  upon  his  internal  states,  and  thus  aid  in 
his  elevation  out  of  evil  affections  and  depraved 
confederates,  that  the  attainment  of  wealth  will 


REASONS    FOR    RETIRING.  7 

produce  very  different  results  in  these  two 
classes,  and  that  the  tenure  by  which  they  hold 
it,  will  be  of  a  very  different  character. 

Howard  Franklin  belonged  to  the  latter 
class.  He  had  not  the  inordinate  love  of  money 
possessed  by  some  men,  and  his  pursuit  of 
wealth  was  governed  less  by  the  desire  to  ac 
cumulate  an  immense  estate,  than  by  a  wish  to 
acquire  what  he  deemed  an  independence.  From 
the  day  he  first  commenced  business,  until 
satisfied  with  his  gains,  he  withdrew  from  a 
life  of  active  usefulness  in  the  world ;  he  had 
ever  intended  retiring  from  business  when  all 
things  conspired  to  justify  his  doing  so ;  and 
this  with  a  view  to  his  own  ease. 

Mr.  Franklin's  ideas  of  a  competency,  as 
might  be  supposed,  gradually  changed  as  his 
external  condition  improved.  Thirty  or  forty 
thousand  dollars  he,  at  one  time  of  life,  con 
sidered  a  handsome  little  fortune,  and  as  much 
as  any  reasonable  man  ought  to  desire.  But  as 
his  external  circumstances  gradually  improved, 
his  wants  increased,  and  his  ideas  of  things 
enlarged.  Sixty  or  seventy  thousand  next  ap 
peared  as  sufficient  for  all  purposes.  But, 
when  that  mark  was  attained,  business  was  too 
prosperous  for  Mr.  Franklin  to  think  of  aban- 
d  3ning  it ;  the  more  especially,  as  his  plans  for 


8  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

the  future,  had,  to  some  extent,  changed,  and  he 
would  be  less  circumscribed  in  the  sphere  he 
•wished  to  occupy,  were  he  in  the  enjoyment  of 
an  income  based  upon  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  instead  of  sixty. 

After  having  passed  the  hundred  thousand 
dollar  mark,  a  slight  depression  in  business, 
caused  Mr.  Franklin  to  retire,  in  order  to  live 
'the  rest  of  his  life  at  ease.  Such  a  life,  it  had 
always  seemed  to  him,  was  one,  of  all  others, 
most  delightful.  While  in  business,  his  anxiety 
to  acquire  a  competency  was  so  great,  that  hn 
permitted  himself  little  or  no  relaxation.  Early 
and  late,  he  was  at  his  manufactory,  and  every 
part  of  it  was  under  his  superintendence.  All 
his  thoughts  were  bent  upon  adding  dollar  to 
dollar,  in  order  to  gain,  at  the  earliest  possible 
time,  an  amount  of  money  adequate  to  his  sup 
port,  during  the  remainder  of  his  life 

Mr.  Franklin  was  in  the  full  possession  of  all 
his  faculties,  bodily  and  mental,  at  the  time  he 
resolved  to  close  up  his  business,  and  could 
have  conducted  it  with  advantage  to  himself,  so 
far  as  money  was  concerned,  and  benefit  to  the 
community,  for  many  years  longer.  But,  he 
had  acquired  property  enough  to  make  him 
comfortable  all  his  life,  and  Avhat  use  was  there, 
he  argued,  in  making  a  slave  of  himself  ant 


REASONS    FOB    RETIRING,  9 

longer,  in  order  to  hoar  d  up  money  for  the  mere 
sake  of  accumulation. 

When  it  became  kn^wn  that  Mr.  Franklin  was 
about  selling  out  his  business,  everybody  ex 
pressed  surprise,  as  everybody  will  at  almost  any 
step  taken  by  other  people,  whether  the  step 
be  dictated  by  right  or  wrong  motives.  This 
was  nothing  strange.  Those  more  intimate  with 
Mr.  Franklin  than  others,  made  free  to  speak 
out  what  they  thought  on  the  subject,  and  when 
his  true  reason  for  the  step  was  known,  nearly 
all  commended  his  prudence. 

"  Some  men  are  never  satisfied  with  getting," 
remarked  an  acquaintance.  "They  are  never 
rich  enough.  With  increasing  wealth,  come 
increasing  wants.  But  you  have,  wisely,  pre 
scribed  a  limit  to  your  desires.  Pity  there 
were  not  more  like  you." 

"  I  have  as  much  money  now  as  I  can  spend," 
replied  Mr.  Franklin,  "  Why,  then,  should  I  toil 
for  more  ?  It  is  time  that  I  retired  from  the 
field  and  left  it  to  others.  I  am  not  greedy  of 
gain.  As  for  the  mere  love  of  money,  I  never 
had  the  feeling.  All  that  I  ev-r  desired,  was  a 
competency,  and  having  obtained  that,  I  am 
content  to  enjoy  it.  What  folly  for  a  man  to 
tug  at  the  oar,  after  he  has  enough,  just  for  the 


10  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

sake  of  getting  mor*,  when  he  can't  use  what 
he  already  has." 

"  True.  It  is  the  worst  of  folly,"  was  an 
swered,  "and  evinces  a  greedy  spirit.  I  only 
wish  that  I  was  worth  what  you  are,  or  even 
half  of  it,  you  would  not  see  me  long  in  the 
stifled  atmosphere  of  a  counting-room.  This 
ambition  of  being  known  as  a  very  rich  man, 
which  some  feel,  I  never  had  ;  and  I  am  just  as 
far  from  being  influenced  by  the  low  desire  of 
mere  possession." 

"  In  that  we  are  alike,"  said  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  money,  except  as  the 
means  of  supplying  our  wants  ?  I  arn  sure 
that  I  value  it  from  no  other  consideration  ;  and 
having  secured  as  much  as  I  need  for  this  pur 
pose,  I  am  very  far  from  being  disposed  to 
work  on  and  lay  up  thousands  upon  thousands 
for  others  to  squander  when  I  am  dead." 

Another  said,  "  I  think,  Mr.  Franklin,  that 
I  would  hold  on  a  little  longer.  Your  business 
is  too  good  to  throw  away.  Before  retiring,  you 
might  easily  add  to  your  present  wealth  the 
convenient  sum  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars." 

(i  Perhaps  I  rmght,"  was  answered.  "  But 
what  of  that  ?  I  have  as  much  as  I  want  now. 
Fifty  thousand  dollars  more  could  not  gi'-e  m> 


REASONS    FOR    RETIRING.  ,  t 

a  single  comfort  that  I  may  nc  t  now  possess,  r  rf 
add  a  drop  to  my  cup  of  happiness.  There  ;s, 
therefore,  no  motive  fcr  giving  up  ten  or  fifteen 
years  more  of  my  life  to  the  drudgery  of  busi 
ness.  No,  no.  While  I  have  health  and  a 
sound  mind,  let  me  enjoy  what  I  have." 

"  But  see  what  good  a  surplus  of  fifty  thou 
sand  dollars  would  put  it  in  your  power  to 
do !" 

Mr.  Franklin  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  no  doubt,  I  might  do  a  great 
deal  of  good.  But  it  is  asking  'most  too  much 
of  a  man  fifty  years  old,  who  has  been  working 
all  his  life,  like  a  draught  horse,  to  give  ten 
years  to  the  public,  when  he  needs  rest  and  re 
laxation.  I  believe  that  I  am  as  benevolent  as 
most  men,  and  as  willing  to  do  my  part,  but  to 
tax  me  as  high  as  fifty  thousand  dollars  for 
charitable  purposes,  is  going  rather  beyond  the 
mark." 

There  was  one  friend  who  took  rather  a 
different  view  from  all  the  rest,  and  who  did 
not  hesitate  to  express  himself  freely. 

'*  Is  it  true,"  he  said,  on  meeting  Mr.  Frank 
lin  about  this  time,  "  that  you  are  about  giving 
up  your  business  ?" 

"  Yes.  I  have  already  arranged  the  prelimi' 
naries  of  a  sale  f  my  whole  establishment." 


12  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS 

"  Into  what  new  channel  do  you  t  jink  of  di 
recting  your  capital  and  energies  ?" 

"  Into  none.     I  shall  retire  from  all  business.** 

"  Your  health  is  yet  unbroken." 

"  I  consider  myself  in  the  prime  of  life." 

"  Then  why  do  you  retire  ?" 

"  I  have  made  as  much  money  as  I  want." 

•'  Indeed !  You  are  the  first  man  I  ever 
heard  say  that.  And,  I  rather  think  that  you 
would  have  no  particular  objection  to  a  little 
more." 

"  No  ;  I  should  make  no  objection  to  sucl 
an  addition,  certainly.  But,  having  as  much 
money  as  I  can  spend,  my  desire  for  more  is  no( 
strong  enough  to  induce  me  to  encounter  any 
longer  the  labor  and  perplexity  of  business.  1 
wish  to  retire  and  live  at  my  ease." 

"  I  have  my  doubts,"  said  the  friend,  "  if 
any  man  has  a  right  to  do  that." 

"  Indeed !  This  is  certainly  a  new  doctrine. 
I  thought  every  man  was  free  to  do  as  he 
pleased,  so  that  he  refrained  from  interfering 
with  the  rights  of  others." 

"  Can  you  retire  from  business  and  not  iatez- 
fere  with  the  rights  of  others  ?" 

"  I  should  think  so.  My  business  is  my  own. 
I  have  pursued  it  for  my  own  benefit,  and 
surely,  I  may  give  it  up  if  it  so  please  me,  with 


REASONS    FOK   KE  \RING.  13 

out  laying  myself  open  to  the  charge  of  injury 
to  others  ?'' 

"  Have  you  consumed  in  your  own  family  all 
that  your  extensive  manufactory  produced  ?" 

"  What  a  question  !" 

"  You  did  not  ?" 

"  No.  A  thousand  people  could  not  consume 
the  annual  product  of  my  establishment." 

"  Then  you  have  been  providing  for  the 
health  and  comfort  of  more  than  a  thousand 
people." 

"  Well  ?" 

"Have  not  these  thousand  people  a  claim 
upon  you  as  a  member  of  society  ?'' 

"  No.     What  gave  them  a  claim  upon  me  ?" 

"  Their  want  of  your  ability.  Society  is  held 
together  by  the  law  of  reciprocal  benefits.  Did 
you  make  the  coat  you  wear?" 

"  No." 

"  Or  the  shoes  upon  your  feet  ?' 

"No." 

"  Who  tilled  the  ground  that  brought  forth 
the  grain ;  who  manufactured  the  wheat  into 
flour ;  or  who  converted  the  flour,  b  y  labor,  into 
the  bread  that  sustains  ycmr  life  ?  Did  you  do 
all  this?" 

"  Certainly  not." 

"  No.     All  this  was  done  by  others,  and  you 
2 


14  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

derive  the  benefit.  Now  suppose  all  men  were 
to  retire  from  active  life  in  society  ?" 

"  Preposterous  !     All  men  can't  retire." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Necessity  compels  them  to  labor." 

'•"  Admitted.  But,  take  away  the  personal 
necessity,  for  the  sake  of  seeing  the  principle 
involved.  Let  all  men  seek  their  ease  ;  let  all 
men  refuse  to  work ;  in  other  words,  perform 
service  for  others,  and  how  quickly  would  dis 
aster  and  wide-spread  distress  prevail  through 
out  the  community.  A  man's  money  would  be 
of  no  avail,  if  it  would  not  purchase  his  neigh 
bor's  ability  to  serve  him  where  his  own  ability 
was  inadequate.  Depend  upon  it,  Mr.  Franklin, 
society  has  just  as  strong  a  claim  upon  you,  in 
virtue  of  your  \bility  to  do  a  useful  service,  as 
you,  in  virtue  of  your  natural  wants,  have  upon 
society.  The  obligation  is  radical,  and  you  can 
not,  justly,  refuse  to  pay  it." 

"  I  render  to  every  man  an  equivalent  for 
what  I  receive." 

"  But  not  to  society  as  one  larger  individual. 
This  you  can  only  do  (pardon  the  freedom  with 
which  I  speak),  by  the  exercise  of  an  ability 
given  you  to  serve  the  general  good.  The 
moment  you  withdraw  from  labor,  others  are 
taxed  to  make  up  for  the  deficient  production. 


REASONS    FOR    RETIRING.  15 

If  ten  men  retire  under  the  views  of  persona.* 
independence  you  take,  the  tax  will  be  heavier 
upon  those  who  have  to  support  the  great 
body  ;  and  if  a  hundred  retire,  the  burden  will 
be  still  more  increased.  You  see,  then,  that  if 
you  have  a  right  to  retire,  so  have  all  men  who 
can  escape  from  labor  ;  but,  if  all  men  have  not 
a  right  to  bury  the  talents  given  them — to  cease 
working  for  the  common  good  (no  man  works 
for  himself ;  that  is,  no  man  uses  the  entire  pro 
duct  of  his  own  skill  or  labor) — then  no  indi 
vidual  has  the  light." 

"A  mere  abstraction,''  replied  Mr.  Franklin. 
"  There  are  plenty  of  people  willing  to  work  for 
the  gains  of  labor.  Plenty  of  rich  men  willing 
to  toil  on,  in  order  that  house  may  he  added  to 
house,  and  field  to  field.  The  whole  area  of 
trade  and  business,  is  crowded,  as  it  is.  Instead 
of  additional  labor,  we  want  the  present  surplus 
reduced." 

"So  I  often  hear  it  said.  But  I  do  not 
admit  the  position.  Take  the  article  you  manu 
facture.  I  presume  that,  since  you  commenced 
business,  the  consumption,  judging  from  your 
own  increased  production,  and  the  increase  of 
establishments  in  the  country  similar  to  you/ 
own,  has  become  four  fold  ?" 

"  At  least." 


16  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

/ 

"  And  the  sale  is  just  as  free." 

"But  not  at  the  same  price.  While  the 
quality  of  the  article  has  grown  better  and 
better,  the  price  has  steadily  declined." 

"  And  the  consumption  increased  ?" 

"  Yes.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  we  should 
all  have  been  ruined  long  ago." 

"  What  caused  this  increase  in  the  consump 
tion?" 

"The  reduction  of  price,  which  brought  it 
within  the  means  of  a  poorer  and  more  numer 
ous  class  of  the  community.'' 

"Under  the  increased  consumption  and  re 
duced  price,  have  not  your  profits  been  as  great 
as  before  ?" 

"  Greater." 

"While  the  enlargement  of  your  establish 
ment  enabled  you  to  employ  three  or  four  tunes 
as  many  hands  as  formerly  ?" 

"  Not  directly,  for  machinery  enabled  me  to 
dispense  with  a  great  deal  of  manual  labor, 
which  was  very  hard,  and  generally  killed  up 
those  engaged  in  its  performance,  in  a  few  years. 
But  the  consumption  of  a  larger  quantity  of 
material,  the  manufacture  of  machinery,  the 
packing,  transportation,  and  disposition  of  a 
larger  amount  of  goods  manufactured,  required, 
I  am  satisfied,  four  or  five  hands  to  one  formerly 


REASONS    FOR   RETIRING,  17 

employed,  though  not  all  directly  undei  my  in« 
spection  or  pay." 

"  And  the  labor  has  been,  .doubtless,  lighter  ?" 
"  Very  greatly.  In  our  business,  the  labor 
was  extremely  severe.  But  the  great  demand 
which  has  arisen  hi  the  last  few  years,  enabled 
us  to  introduce  machinery,  and  thus,  to  some 
extent,  emancipate  those  who  were  no  better 
than  slaves." 

"  So  far,  then,  Mr.  Franklin,  from  their  being 
too  many  at  work,  do  you  not  see  that  the  won- 
derful  power  of  machinery  is  constantly  being 
brought  into  requisition,  in  order  to  increase  the 
production  of  useful  articles,  so  that  they  may 
come  within  the  reach  of  all.  There  is  no  sur 
plus  of  labor,  depend  upon  it.  Else  why  are 
water,  steam,  electricity,  and  every  conceivable 
natural  power  brought  into  use  ?  and  why  are 
all  the  mechanical  properties  of  matter  made  to 
subserve  some  good  end  in  the  production  of 
things  needful  in  the  social  economy  ?  Depend 
upon  it,  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  men  of  your 
intelligence  and  ability  to  perform  ;  and  if  you 
retire  from  your  position,  society  will  suffer  de 
triment.  If  I  understand  aright,  the  cheapen 
ing  of  the  article  you  manufacture,  and  the 
bringing  it,  on  this  account,  within  reach  of  the 
means  of  a  largf  portion  of  the  community 


18  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

who  used  it  but  sparingly,  or  not  at  all  before, 
was  in  consequence  of  your  introduction  of  ma 
chinery  into  one  branch  of  its  manufacture.  Is 
this  so?" 

"  It  is.  But  I  don't  pretend  to  have  had  in 
view  anything  more  than  cheapening  the  cost 
of  production  by  dispensing  with  hand  labor, 
and  thus  making  more  profit  for  myself.  There 
was  no  philanthropy  in  it,  I  can  assure  you." 

"  No  matter.  You  were  at  work  in  the  manu 
facture  of  an  article  that  the  people  wanted, 
and  served  the  community,  whether  you  in 
tended  to  do  so  or  not ;  and  in  your  efforts  to 
lessen  the  cost  of  its  production  for  your  own 
benefit,  vou  actually  served  the  public  in  cheap 
ening  it,  and  thus  bringing  it  into  more  general 
use.  Had  you  retired  from  business,  content  with 
thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars,  before  you  had 
lessened  the  cost  of  manufacture,  up  to  this  day 
the  old  order  of  things  might  have  prevailed. 
Think  of  that,  and  also  think  how  much  the  peo 
ple  would  have  lost  by  your  withdrawal  from 
your  active  duties  as  a  member  of  society." 

"  Somebody  else  would  have  introduced  ma 
chinery  if  I  had  not,"  said  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  No  doubt  of  that,"  was  replied.  "  But 
the  introduction  might  not  have  taken  place  for 
some  years  Suppose,  however,  it  would  have 


REASONS    FOR    RETIRING.  19 

taken  place  at  the  time  you  introduced  it ;  still, 
your  enterprise,  capital,  and  labor  would  have 
been  wanted,  and  no  other  enterprise,  capital, 
and  labor  of  others  could  have  supplied  them. 
Others  would  have  their  part  to  do,  and  no  mat 
ter  how  efficiently  they  might  do  it,  still  your 
deficit  remained  as  a  balance  against  the  com 
fort  of  society." 

"That  may  all  seem  very  clear  to  you,"  re 
plied  Mr.  Franklin,  "  but  to  me,  it  is  only  an 
abstraction.  As  for  the  well-being  of  others,  I 
shall  not  interfere  with  it.  I  will  take  no  man's 
goods ;  nor  stand  in  the  way  of  any  man's 
interests.  I  will  leave  all  free  to  follow  their 
own  ends  in  life,  and  I  will  claim  a  like  freedom 
for  myself.  I  pursued  my  business,  in  order  to 
accumulate  money  and  become  independent. 
My  end  is  answered,  and  I  have  no  longer  a 
motive  strong  enough  to  induce  me  to  continue 
involved  in  its  cares  and  labors.  What  you 
have  said  about  my  obligations  to  society,  may 
all  be  so ;  but  I  can  assure  you  that  I  do  not 
feel  its  force.  As  far  as  I  understand  the  social 
law,  it  is  '  every  man  for  himself.'  " 

The  friend,  seeing  how  useless  it  would  be  to 
urge  any  further  considerations  of  the  kind  he 
had  advanced,  said  no  more  on  the  subject,  and 
his  words  soon  passed  from  the  ears  of  the  man 
for  whose  good  they  were  spoken. 


RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE    STEP     TAKEN. 

•• 

THE  wife  of  Howard  Franklin  was  a  woman  of 
clear  perceptions.  She  saw,  the  moment  her 
husband  declared  his  intention  of  retiring,  that 
he  was  wrong.  He  had  always  said  that  he  did 
not  intend  remaining  in  business  a  day  after 
securing  a  competency,  but  the  act  of  retiring 
had  presented  itself  to  her  as  something  yet 
far  in  the  distance.  When,  however,  he  told 
her  that  he  had  actually  entered  into  arrange 
ments  for  affecting  a  sale  of  his  establishment, 
she  could  not  help  expressing  both  surprise  and 
disapproval. 

"What  do  you  intend  doing?"  she  very 
naturally  asked;  the  fear  crossing  her  mind 
that  he  would  risk  his  money  in  some  other 
business,  and  lose  it.  Her  father  had  once  re 
tired  from  a  profitable  business,  in  order  to 
engage  in  one  he  imagined  he  would  like  better, 
and  lost  in  consequence,  nearly  all  his  property. 
She  was  therefore  aware  of  the  danger  attend 
ing  such  a  change. 

"I  intend  living  at  my  ease,"  replied  Mr. 
Franklin,  "  I've  worked  hard  enough,  during  the 


THE    STEP    TAKEN.  21 

fast  twenty-five  years,  and  now  want  to  enjoy 
the  fruit  of  my  labor  " 

"  But  can  you  remain  idle,  Howard  ?  Your 
health  is  still  good,  and  your  mind  active." 

"  Why  not  ?" 

"  The  habits  of  a  whole  life  time  cannot  be 
suddenly  changed.  The  mind,  after  years  of 
earnest  devotion  to  business,  will  become  rest 
less  and  discontented,  if  it  have  no  pursuit. 
You  will  be  unhappy,  with  nothing  to  do." 

"  Is  the  prisoner  unhappy,  when  his  prison 
doors  are  thrown  open  ?  or  the  slave,  when  his 
chains  are  knocked  off?  I  have  been  both  a 
prisoner  and  a  slave  for  years.  Do  you  think 
freedom  will  make  me  discontented  ?" 

"  Habits  of  mind  are  not  easily  changed," 
said  Mrs.  Franklin.  "  I  can  easily  understand 
how  a  prisoner,  long  deprived  of  his  liberty, 
would,  under  certain  circumstances,  find  himself 
less  contented  beyond,  than  he  had  been  within 
the  bounds  of  his  prison  walls  ;  and  a  slave  set 
free,  less  contented  at  liberty,  than  while  in 
bondage.  For  a  long  series  of  years,  you  have 
been  deeply  intent  upon  your  business.  This 
interest  in  business,  has  been  the  aliment,  upon 
which  your  mind  has  subsisted,  and  whereby  it 
has  retained  a  healthy  vigor.  Now,  what  will 
sustain  you,  when  this  interest  is  removed  ?" 


RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

To  a  certain  extent  Mr.  Franklin  felt  the  force 
of  his  wife's  questions ;  but  the  impression  was 
not  permanent,  The  idea  of  throwing  aside  all 
the  labor  and  care  attendant  upon  business,  was 
so  pleasant,  that  he  could  not  seriously  believe 
the  change  from  toil  of  body  and  mind,  to  ease 
and  quiet,  was  going  to  make  him  less  contented. 
Why  should  it  ?  With  plenty  of  money,  and 
freedom  to  go  where  he  pleased,  and  do  what 
he  pleased,  why  should  he  not  be  happy  ?  The 
conclusion  was  so  natural,  that  it  quickly  dis 
pelled  all  doubts  suggested  by  other  minds. 

Nothing  occurred  to  produce  hesitation  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Franklin.  His  first  purpose  was 
fully  carried  out,  and  his  whole  establishment, 
healthy  and  flourishing  in  every  department, 
transferred  for  value  received  to  others. 

At  this  period,  Mr.  Franklin's  family  consist 
ed  of  his  wife  and  four  children.  His  two  eldest 
children  had  died  young,  and  those  that  re 
mained,  were  yet  at  school.  Edwin  was 
eighteen,  Florence  sixteen,  James  twelve,  and 
Louisa  ten  years  of  age.  One  of  the  argu 
ments  used  by  Mr.  Franklin  in  justification  oi 
his  withdrawal  from  business,  was  the  leisure  it 
Vould  afford  him  to  attend  to  the  education  of 
his  children.  But  he  was  about  as  well  fitted 
to  direct  the  education  of  his  children  as  he  was 


THE    STEP   TAKEN.  23 

to  bu'ld  a  steam  engine  or  navigate  a  ship.  While 
in  business  his  whole  soul  had  been  in  what  he 
was  doing.  His  reading  was  limited  to  the 
pages  of  a  newspaper,  and  his  interest  in  things 
beyond  the  sphere  in  which  he  was  moving, 
t  confined  mainly  to  the  state  and  condition  of 
the  political  party  to  which  he  had  attached 
himself.  A  speech  in  congress,  a  message  from 
the  president,  or  an  annual  report  from  one  of 
the  departments  at  Washington,  was  a  literary 
achievement  beyond  which  he  rarely  went. 
Since  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  had  never  suc 
ceeded  in  reading  a  volume  of  any  kit:4  regu 
larly  through.  He  took  no  interest  LA  t^oks ; 
und  at  one  time  was  known  to  declare  that  tbe] 
were,  at  best,  merely  incentives  to  idleness. 

With  a  mind  thus  educated,  and  more  har 
dened  by  time  into  a  fixed  form,  it  may  readily 
be  supposed  that,  so  far  as  the  education  of  his 
children  was  concerned,  it  would  go  on  just  s^ 
well,  and  perhaps  better,  if  Mr.  Franklin 
continued  his  attention  to  business,  and  left  th^. 
work,  as  begun,  entirely  in  the  hands  of  th^ 
schoolmaster.  But  the  declaration  in  regard  to 
the  children  was  only  an  invented  reason  to 
g'ive  force  to  the  real  ones  that  led  to  the  step 
he  bad  taken.  It  was  easy  to  talk  about  th* 
importance  of  education,  and  the  duties  of  pa- 


24  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

rents  to  their  children.  Moreover,  it  sounded 
well.  And  now,  that  Mr.  Franklin  no  longer 
had  business  to  occupy  his  thoughts,  he  had 
more  leisure  to  think  about  his  position  in  so 
ciety,  and  the  impression  his  actions  and  opin 
ions  would  make  upon  other  people. 

Like  most  men  who  know  little  or  nothing 
about  a  subject  to  which  they  first  direct  their 
thoughts,  under  the  idea  of  its  paramount  im 
portance,  Mr.  Franklin  saw,  or  imagined  that  he 
saw,  abuses  and  defects  in  the  system  of  education 
pursued  with  his  children,  and  soon  began  te 
inveigh  against  their  teachers,  and  to  talk  about 
sending  them  to  other  schools.  This  was  not 
right,  and  that  was  positively  wrong.  Trifles 
were  magnified  into  importance,  and  even  excel 
lences,  viewed  through  a  distorting  medium, 
deformed  into  evils.  Finally,  much  against  the 
wishes  of  the  mother  and  children,  the  latter, 
except  Edwin,  who  was  at  College,  were  remov 
ed  from  the  schools  to  which  they  had  been 
going,  and  sent  to  another  establishment  about 
which  Mr.  Franklin  knew  even  less  than  he  did 
of  those  from  which  he  had  removed  them. 

The  result  did  not  prove  the  wisdom  of  the 
act.  A  week  only  elapsed  after  the  change  had 
taken  place,  before  Florence,  who  shed  many 
tears  in  consequence  of  being  removed  from  her 


THE    STEP    TAKEN.  26 

scLool  and  sent  to  another,  failed  in  the  usual 
regularity  of  her  return  after  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  session.  When  questioned  by  her 
mother,  she  gave  as  a  reason,  that  she  had  gone 

home  with  a  certain  Miss  R ,  belonging 

to  the  new  school,  who  had  invited  her  to  come 
and  look  at  a  beautiful  rose- wood  secretary,  just 
sent  to  her  by  an  uncle  in  Paris." 

This  was  considered  a  sufficient  excuse,  and 
nothing  more  was  thought  of  it.  But  in  a  few 
days  Florence  absented  herself  again  for  an  hour 
or  two. 

"  Where  have  you  been,  Florence  ?"  asked 
Mrs.  Franklin,  when  her  daughter  came  in. 

"  I  went  home  with  Anna  R ." 

"  You  were  there  two  or  three  days  ago.*' 

"  Yes,  Ma'am." 

"Who  is  Anna  R ?"  inquired  the 

mother. 

" Her  father  is  a  rich  merchant.  Anna  in 
troduced  me  to  him  this  afternoon.  He  said  h« 
knew  papa  very  well." 

"  Why  did  you  go  home  with  Anna  R 

again  ?" 

"She  wanted  me  to  go.  She  is  a  very 
pleasant  girl,  and  I  like  her." 

Although  Mrs.  Franklin  did  not  feel  altoge 
ther  satisfied  about  this  little  matter,  yet  no  good 


26  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

reason  why  she  should  forbid  Florence  again 
going  home  with  Anna,  presented  itself.    When 

she  mentioned  the  name  of  Mr.  R .  to  her 

husband,  he  spoke  very  highly  of  the  merchant, 
and  said  his  family  was  one  of  the  first  standing 

in  the  city.     The  fact  that  Mr.  R had 

said  to  Florence  that  he  knew  him  very  well, 
was  grateful  to  his  feelings. 

From  that  time  a  warm  intimacy  grew  up 
between  the  two  young  ladies,  and  they  spent  a 
good  deal  of  time  together,  when  not  at  school. 
Sometimes  Anna  would  come  home  with  Flo 
rence,  and  sometimes  Florence  would  go  home 
with  Anna.  This  was  Florence's  first  friendship, 
and  the  effect  upon  her  mind  was  by  no  means 
favorable  to  advancement  in  her  studies.  Anna 
was  a  gay  girl,  and  had  seen  a  good  deal  more 
of  the  world  than  Florence.  She  was  older  by 
a  year.  Neither  at  home,  nor  in  the  school 
where  she  had  been  for  years,  had  Florence 
heard  much  about  dress  or  company.  But, 
among  the  girls  with  whom  she  mingled  in 
the  more  fashionable  establishment  to  which 
her  father,  in  his  wisdom,  had  sent  her,  she 
heard  of  little  else.  Study  was  lightly  esteemed 
among  the  gay  Misses  who  daily  congregated  in 
the  spacious  rooms  of  the  seminary  ;  while  gos 
sip  of  all  kinds  passed  from  lip  to  lip,  and 


THE    STEP    TAKEN.  27 

proved  far  more  interesting  and  more  easily  re 
membered  than  the  teacher's  lessons. 

To  one  like  Florence,  Anna  R was  any 

thing  but  a  suitable  companion.  Under  her 
tuition,  the  sweet  simplicity  of  girlhood  soon 
passed  away,  and  Florence,  from  being  quiet, 
reserved,  and  modest,  became  a  smart  young 
Miss ;  and  when  not  in  the  presence  of  her  pa 
rents,  could  talk  of  beaux,  dress,  parties,  and 
fashion,  as  freely  as  any. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin  saw  with  pain 
that  their  daughter,  at  this  most  interesting  and 
critical  age,  was  changing  for  the  worse.  The 
latter  did  not  hesitate  to  affirm  it  as  her  belief 
that  this  change  was  in  consequence  of  new  as 
sociations  in  the  new  school.  Mr.  Franklin 
would  not  admit  this,  though  in  his  heart  he 
felt  that  it  was  too  true,  and  secretly  regretted 
having  proposed  and  insisted  upon  the  unfortu 
nate  change  which  had  been  made. 

Late  one  afternoon,  about  six  months  subse 
quent  to  the  change  just  mentioned,  Mr.  Frank 
lin,  in  returning  home  from  some  time-killing 
expedition,  came  suddenly,  in  turning  a  corner, 
upon  Anna  R and  his  daughter,  gal 
lantly  attended  by  a  fashionably  dressed  young 
man,  who  was  engaging  their  attention  so  fully 
that  neither  of  the  young  ladies  perceived  him 


28  RETIRING   FROM  BUSINESS. 

The  young  gentleman  he  happened  to  know, 
having  frequently  met  him  at  his  barber's,  where 
he  generally  showed  off  a  little.  He  was  the 
idle  dissipated  son  of  a  broken  merchant,  and 
by  some  means,  not  clearly  apparent,  managed, 
without  work,  to  keep  up  a  fashionable  exterior, 
and  by  dint  of  a  bold  face,  to  force  himself  into 
the  society  of  people  who  would  willingly  have 
dispensed  with  his  company. 

By  Mr.  Franklin,  he  had  always  been  utterly 
despised.  To  find,  then,  his  daughter  in  com 
pany  with  this  man,  and  evidently  pleased  with 
the  fellow's  attentions,  half  maddened  him.  So 
astonished  was  he  when  he  first  saw  them,  that 
he  had  not  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  speak 
to  Florence ;  and  she  passed  on,  unconscious 
that  her  father's  eyes  had  just  been  upon  her. 


CHAPTER    III. 

FIRST    EFFECTS. 

WHEN  Mr.  Franklin  informed  his  wife,  on  re 
turning  home,  of  what  he  had  just  seen,  she 
was  deeply  distressed. 

"  "We  must  at  once  break  off  all  intercourse 


FIRST   EFFECTS.  29 

between  her  and  Miss  R .     The  more  I 

,iave  seen  of  that  girl  the  less  I  have  liked  her. 
I  believe  the  association  has  been  of  great  in 
jury  to  Florence." 

"  I  am  afraid  it  has,"  replied  Mr.  Franklin. 
"At  any  rate,  it  must  now,  as  you  say,  be 

broken     off.      If   Mr.    R permits    his 

daughter  to  associate  with  young  men  of  that 
stamp,  it  is  more  than  I  do." 

"  We  must  remove  her  from  the  school  also. 
She  has  learned  little  there  that  will  ever  be  of 
any  use  to  her." 

"  The  only  way  effectually  to  break  off  the 
intimacy,  is  to  take  her  from  the  school.  She 
must  not  go  another  day." 

There  was  no  controversy  on  this  point. 
When  Florence  came  in,  which  was  not  until 
nearly  dark,  she  merely  looked  into  the  room 
where  her  parents  were  sitting,  and  then  went 
up  to  her  chamber,  where  she  remained  for  the 
evening.  When  the  bell  rung  she  did  not  come 
down.  On  being  sent  for,  she  said  that  she 
was  not  very  well,  and  did'nt  wish  any  tea. 

After  a  good  deal  of  conversation  on  the  sub 
ject,  the  parents  came  to  the  conclusion  not  to 
say  anything  to  Florence  until  the  following 
day,  and  she  was  therefore  left  to  herself  for 
the  evening. 

3* 


30  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

On  the  next  morning,  when  the  family  assem 
bled  at  the  breakfast  table,  the  place  of  Flo 
rence  was  still  vacant.  A  servant  was  sent  up  to 
her  chamber,  but  returned  with  the  information 
that  she  was  not  there. 

A  painful  suspicion  flashed  across  the  mind 
of  Mrs.  Franklin.  She  arose  up  quickly  and 
ascended  to  her  daughter's  room.  Every  thing 
there  corroborated  the  suspicion.  The  bed  had 
not  been  slept  in  during  the  night,  and  on  ex 
amination,  she  found  that  Florence  had  taken  or 
worn  some  of  her  handsomest  clothing1  and  or- 

O 

namental  jewelry.  Upon  a  bureau,  and  partly 
covered  by  a  small  cushion,  lay  a  note,  which 
the  mother  eagerly  read.  Its  contents  were  as 
follows : — 

DEAR  MOTHER  : — Don't  be  alarmed  at  my 
absence,  I  will  be  home  again  in  a  few  days.  I 
know  you  and  papa  will  scold  me  terribly  when 
I  come  back ;  but  I  am  sure  you  will  forgive  me. 
I  refused  for  a  long  time  my  consent  to  go,  but 
no  denial  would  be  taken,  and  at  last  I  yielded. 
Don't,  let  me  beg  of  you  again,  be  in  the  least 
alarmed.  I  will  be  back  in  a  few  days.  I  can 
not  say  more. 

Affectionately  your  daughter, 

FLORENCE." 

The  letter  dropped  from  the  mother's  hand, 
and  she  sunk,  with  an  exclamation  of  grief, 


FIRST   EFFECTS.  31 

upon  a  chair.  It  was  clear  to  her  mind,  thai 
Florence,  scarcely  more  than  a  child,  had  been 
inveigled  into  a  marriage  with  the  young  man 
in  whose  company  she  was  seen  on  the  previous 
day.  A  second  reading  of  the  letter,  however, 
created  a  doubt,  while  it  suggested  a  more 
dreadful  suspicion.  While  she  yet  remained  in 
her  daughter's  room,  Mr.  Franklin,  whose  anx 
iety  of  mind  was  so  intense  that  he  could  en 
dure  but  a  brief  suspense,  came  up. 

"  What  is  this  ?"  he  said,  catching  eagerly  at 
the  letter  of  Florence.  He  read  it  twice  before 
his  bewildered  mind  fully  comprehended  its 
meaning,  and  then  the  magnitude  of  the  evil 
which  had  fallen  suddenly  upon  them,  so  crush 
ed  his  feelings  as  to  take  away  for  a  time  his 
utterance.  In  all  his  life,  no  affliction  like  this 
had  crossed  his  path.  Children  had  been  taken 
from  him  by  disease,  but  there  remained  a  hope 
in  their  death.  What  hope  was  there  now  ? 

Clasping  his  hands  across  his  forehead,  Mr. 
Franklin  stood  for  more  than  a  minute,  endea 
voring  to  calm  the  wild  agitation  of  his  feel- 


"  I  must    see  Mr.   R instantly !"  he 

at  length  said,  and  as  he  spoke,  he  turned  to 

«°- 

"  Do  you  think  she  has  gone  in  company  with 


32  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

Anna?"  asked  Mrs.  Franklin,  in  u  tremulous 
voice. 

"  No  doubt  of  it.  They  were  together  last 
evening/' 

"  Then  see  Mr.  R ,  by  all  means.  Per 


But  the  mother  did  not  trust  herself  to  finish 
the  hopeful  sentence.  Mr.  Franklin  left  the 

house  immediately.  He  found  Mr.  R ., 

as  much  agitated  as  himself.  Anna  had  also 
disappeared  on  the  night  previous,  but  on  whai 
errand  she  had  gone,  or  in  what  direction,  her 
parents  yet  remained  ignorant. 

"  I  saw  them  both  on  the  street,  late  yester 
day  afternoon,  with  that  puppy,  Elmer,"  said 
Mr.  Franklin. 

"What !"  responded  Mr.  R ,  while  the 

blood  rushed  instantly  to  his  face.  "  Elmer  ?" 

"  It  is  too  true." 

"  The  scoundrel !  Within  a  month  he  has  had 
the  despicable  assurance  to  call  here,  and  ask  to 
see  my  daughter,  as  yet  but  a  school  girl.  It 
is  well  for  him,  that  I  was  not  at  home,  or  I 
would  have  pitched  him  into  the  street  I  met 
him  a  few  days  afterwards  and  threatened  to 
cut  off  his  ears,  if  he  ever  dared  even  speak  to 
Anna.  In  company  with  him  !  Can  it  be 
possible  ?" 


FIRST   EFFECTS.  33 

"  And  worse,"  said  Mr.  Franklin,  "  I  sadly 
fear,  that  either  your  daughter  or  mine,  has 
been  enticed  by  Mm  into  a  clandestine  mar 
riage." 

Mr.  R grew  instantly  pale  as  ashes. 

"  Into  a  marriage  with  Elmer !"  he  said  in  a 
choking  whisper.  "  Impossible  !" 

"Heaven  grant  that  the  fear  may  not  be 
realized.  But  either  you  or  I  have  got  this 
great  affliction,  if  not  a  worse  one  to  bear." 

"  I  will  shoot  him  !"  exclaimed  R ,  in 

a  loud,  excited  voice,  losing  entirely  his  self 
control. 

"  First,  we  must  find  the  fugitives,"  said  Mr. 
franklin,  upon  whose  mind  the  conviction  that 
Florence  had  only  gone  away  as  the  friend  of 
Anna,  was  becoming  every  moment  clearer. 
The  fact,  that  Elmer  had  actually  attempted  to 
visit  the  latter,  naturally  led  him  to  this  con 
clusion. 

"True,"    replied    Mr.    R ,    growing 

calmer.  "  But  where  shall  we  seek  them  ? 
Have  you  any  knowledge  of  the  direction  that 
has  been  taken." 

"  Not  the  slightest.  It  is  more  than  proba 
ble,  however,  that  they  have  gone  w  to  Phila 
delphia  " 


34  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

"  Then  let  us  seek  them  there.  Will  you  go 
on  this  afternoon  ?" 

"  Yes.  No  time  is  to  be  lost.  The  present 
doubt  is  terrible  ;  it  seems  as  if  I  could  not  bear 
it  for  an  hour." 

"  It  may  be  days  before  it  changes  into  a 

blasting     certainty,"   returned    Mr.    R . 

"  Oh  !  To  think  that  my  child  should  come  to 
this  folly !  So  much  for  that  accursed  school ! 
So  much  for  a  fashionable  establishment !  I 
was  a  fool  ever  to  let  her  go  there.  I  might 
have  known,  that  evil  instead  of  good  would 
spring  from  all  the  associations  connected  there 
with.  It  was  the  fashionable  school.  All  the 
first  families  sent  their  children  there.  So  much 
the  worse  !  But  it  is  too  late  to  talk  of  this. 
The  mischief  has  been  done." 

The  words  of  Mr.  R were  felt  by  the 

father  of  Florence,  as  a  rebuke.  In  order  to 
send  his  daughter  to  this  school,  he  had  taken 
her  from  one  to  which  she  had  been  going  for 
years,  and  where  all  the  associations  were  of 
the  best  character.  It  was  not  a  fashionable 
institution,  but  it  had  an  advantage  in  being  a 
good  school,  which  others  did  not  always  pos 
sess. 

To   Philadelphia,   the   anxious   fathers  pro 
ceeded  ;  but  were   not   successful  in   meeting 


FIRST    EFFECTS.  35 

witli  the  fugitives.  While  they  were  away, 
however,  both  Florence  and  Anna  returned; 
the  latter  as  the  bride  of  Elmer.  Florence  had 
only  accompanied  the  latter,  as  a  friend. 

In  the  angry  excitement  of  the  moment,  Mr. 

R threw  his  daughter  indignantly  from 

him.  But,  it  was  the  old  story  in  his  case.  A 
few  months  cooled  down  the  father's  passion, 
and  tenderer  feelings  took  their  place.  In  less 
than  a  year  the  banished  one  was  brought  back 
from  her  exile,  and  with  her  came  the  man  she 
now  called  by  the  name  of  husband.  And  had 
this  man  really  loved  her?  Let  her  already 
sobered  face  answer  the  question.  He  had 
loved  her  father's  wealth  and  position — nothing 
else;  and  had  inveigled  this  young  and  silly 
creature  into  a  marriage  with  no  other  end  than 
to  obtain  a  claim  upon  both.  The  history  of 
their  wedded  life,  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  trace. 
Happy  it  was  not.  Can  a  bitter  fountain  send 
forth  sweet  water  ei 


36  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

A  TRIP  TO  SARATOGA. 

THE  education  of  Florence  Franklin  was  .Com 
plete,  at  least  in  respect  to  rudimentals.  The 
last  establishment  to  which  she  had  been  sent 
proved  a  finishing  shop,  so  far  as  she  was  con 
cerned.  With  her  removal  from  that  hot-bed 
for  young  ladies,  died  the  last  state  of  the 
youthful  mind,  in  which  the  love  of  knowing 
predominates  ;  and  she  now  felt  herself  a  woman, 
ready  to  apply  in  real  life,  what  she  had  learned 
as  a  child.  And  Florence  was  not  yet  seventeen 
years  old  !  So  much  for  a  change  of  associa 
tions.  So  much  for  introducing  a  young  girl  at 
her  critical  age,  into  the  atmosphere  of  a  fash 
ionable  school  for  young  ladies.  For  ever  gone 
from  her  cheek  was  the  delicate  rose-bud  tint 
of  girlish  modesty  ;  for  ever  gone  from  her  eyes 
the  maidenly  repose,  so  pure  and  passionless. 
She  was  a  woman,  without  the  woman's  weight 
of  character. 

And  this  sad  change  was  the  first  result  ot 
Mr.  Franklin's  retirement  from  business,  which 
left  his  mind  unoccupied.  All  was  going  on 
well,  and  he  was  performing  an  essential  service 


A    TRIP    TO    SARArOGA.  37 

io  the  community ;  but,  he  must  needs  retire 
from  his  useful  position,  in  order  to  seek  his 
own  ease.  But  his  mind  could  not  rest.  Inac 
tivity  was  a  state  utterly  repugnant  to  its  nature. 
There  being  no  business  to  call  forth  its  energies, 
it  turned  aside  for  something  to  do,  as  naturally 
as  the  flower  turns  itself  to  the  sun.  And  the 
first  irregular  work  presented  was  an  interfer 
ence  in  the  education  of  his  children,  about 
which  he  had  no  previously  well-formed  views  ; 
about  which  he  had  no  well  digested  plans.  A 
mere  notion  that  all  was  not  right  came  into  his 
idle  brain,  and  there  magnified  itself  into  im 
portance.  The  habit  of  his  whole  life  had  been 
action.  He  could  not  think  without  acting.  It, 
therefore,  followed,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
that,  so  soon  as  he  got  a  notion  into  his  head 
that  all  was  not  right  in  the  matter  of  his  chil 
dren's  education,  he  would  promptly  act  in  the 
matter.  And,  as  it  has  been  seen,  he  did  act, 
and  that  not  from  any  distinct  views,  but  from 
a  conceit  that  he  saw  the  whole  subject  of  edu 
cation  in  clear  light.  The  consequences  were 
deplorable.  His  daughter  received,  when  her 
character  was  in  a  state  of  formation,  and  just  as 
it  was  beginning  to  harden,  impressions  that  no 
after  culture  could  entirely  efface. 

But  this  was  not  the  only  case  where  the 
4 


38  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

effect  of  Mr.  Franklin's  retirement  from  business 
was  felt  injuriously  at  home.  There  is,  about 
every  man,  a  tranquilizing  or  disturbing  sphere, 
according  to  his  state  of  mind.  Before  his  re 
tirement  from  business,  Mr.  Franklin  came  home 
to  his  family,  with  his  mind  prepared  for  repose 
or  the  quiet  social  pleasures  of  home.  He  met 
his  children  with  delight ;  the  close  of  every 
day  being  a  kind  of  domestic  re-union.  They, 
too,  had  laid  aside  the  graver  duties  of  the  day. 
The  season  of  study  was  over,  and  the  time  for 
enjoyment  had  come.  But  there  was  a  change 
•now.  With  nothing  of  importance  to  occupy 
his  thoughts,  and  nothing  of  importance  to  do, 
Mr.  Franklin  soon  found  the  hours  hanging 
heavily  upon  his  hands  ;  and  evening,  instead  of 
coming  as  before,  a  calm  and  pleasant  time, 
generally  found  him  so  fatigued  with  doing 
nothing,  or  thinking  about  nothing,  as  to  be  in 
no  humor  to  meet  his  family  as  of  old.  Dis- 
turbod  in  his  own  feelings,  he  threw  a  disturb 
ing  sphere  around  him.  The  children  were  no 
longer  gay,  as  before,  in  his  presence,  and  he  no 
longer  entered,  as  of  old,  into  their  innocent 
pleasures.  The  effect  of  this  was  bad.  Home 
was  far  from  being  to  any  member  of  the  fami 
ly,  as  happy  a  place  as  before. 

Moreover,  Mr.  Franklin  grew  impatient.     Lit- 


A    TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  39 

tie  irregularities  that  were  once  unnoticed,  fretted 
him,  and  faults  in  the  children  were  reproved 
with  a  harshness  unknown  in  former  times.  He 
meddled,  too,  in  domestic  affairs,  seriously  hin 
dering  the  orderly  progression  of  his  wife's  du 
ties,  and  producing  household  difficulties  that 
never  would  have  occurred  but  for  his  interfer 
ence.  The  reaction  of  these  increased  his  fret 
ful  temper,  and  at  times,  rendered  his  wife,  foi 
whom  there  there  was  no  retirement  from  busi 
ness,  really  unhappy. 

Unfortunately  for  the  family  of  Mr.  Franklin 
these  effects  did  not  lessen,  but  increased  daily. 
For  a  short  period  after  giving  up  his  establish 
ment,  the  retired  gentleman  felt  his  chest  ex 
panding  with  pleasure,  as  he  inhaled  the  new 
atmosphere  of  freedom  from  care  and  business. 
But  this  state  was  of  but  short  duration.  Not 
a  week  passed  before  many  hours  in  each  day 
dragged  heavily  on,  and  brought  the  night 
more  slowly  than  it  had  ever  come  before. 
From  that  time  his  restless,  dissatisfied  state 
went  on  gradually  increasing,  and  soon  began 
to  expend  itself  in  correcting  abuses  in  his  fa 
mily.  How  successful  he  was  in  his  first  impor 
tant  attempt  has  been  seen.  In  nearly  every 
otter  instance  his  success  was  of  a  like  charac- 


40  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS 

ter ,  though,  fortunately,  not  in  all  cases  so  dis« 
astrous  in  the  final  result. 

At  the  end  of  a  year,  Mr.  Franklin  was  de 
cidedly  unhappy.  INTothing  had  turned  out 
precisely  according  to  his  anticipations.  The 
men  to  whom  he  had  sold  his  business  failed  to 
conduct  it  with  the  success  that  had  attended 
his  efforts,  and,  in  consequence,  failed  to  meet 
all  their  notes  given  for  the  purchase.  At  least 
one-half  of  them  had  to  be  renewed ;  and 
although  Mr.  Franklin  considered  himself  amply 
secured,  he  permitted  the  fact  to  woriy  him. 
Edwin  finished  his  collegiate  course  during  the 
period  and  came  home  ;  not,  however,  to  enter 
upon  the  study  of  a  profession  according  to  his 
father's  wishes.  The  young  man  did  not  bear 
off  the  highest  honors — very  far  from  it.  Study 
was  no  pleasure  to  him ;  and  the  idea  of  con- 
tinning  a  student  in  one  of  the  learned  profes 
sions  all  his  life,  was  anything  but  an  attractive 
one.  He,  therefore,  rebelled  against  the  pro 
posed  disposition  to  be  made  of  him,  and  this 
was  another  source  of  trouble  to  Mr.  Franklin, 
who  fretted  under  the  disappointment,  and  made 
thg  whole  family  uncomfortable.  Besides, 
there  were  other  causes  of  trouble,  as  will  be 
seen. 

During  this  year,  Mr.  Franklin  had  to  resort 


A   TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  41 

;o  various  expedients  in  order  to  make  the  time 
pass  more  quickly.  Reading,  at  first  tried,  was 
soon  abandoned.  He  could  not  get  interested 
in  books,  except  occasionally  in  a  narrative  of 
some  kind  or  other,  and  even  then  his  interest 
flagged  before  a  hundred  pages  were  mastered. 
The  difficulty,  even  in  books  of  this  character, 
was  the  restless  state  of  his  mind.  He  could 
not  fix  his  attention,  except  with  difficulty,  upon 
anything.  His  thoughts  had  lapsed  along  in 
one  channel  for  so  many  years,  that  it  was  next 
to  impossible  to  turn  them  into  a  new  course. 
The  daily  newspaper  only  gave  a  mouthful  of 
interest  before  breakfast,  and  left  the  whole  day 
unprovided  with  aliment.  He  soon  tried  walk 
ing  the  streets  with  no  object  but  to  kill  time ; 
and  as  for  riding  into  the  country,  it  gave  him 
no  pleasure  after  he  had  driven  out  daily  for  a 
few  weeks. 

Mrs.  Franklin  was  a  woman  of  domestic 
habits.  She  loved  her  children,  and  her  highest 
pleasure  was  in  ministering  to  their  comfort. 
She  had  no  desire  for  fashionable  life,  and  had 
mingled  but  little  in  society.  Home  was  the 
place  she  liked  best,  and  a  few  tried  friends 
made  up  the  circle  of  her  associations.  While 
devoted  entirely  to  business,  Mr.  Franklin  was 
as  domestic  and  home-loving  as  his  wife ;  but 


•42  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

when  he  became  a  retired  gentleman,  home  1  >st 
its  attraction,  and  his  thoughts  wandered  away 
in  search  of  pleasure.  As  well  to  do  in  the 
world  as  they  were,  up  to  the  period  of  with 
drawal  from  business,  not  a  single  day  had  been 
passed  at  any  fashionable  watering  or  bathing 
place  during  the  summer.  While  other  men 
were  seeking  recreation,  Mr.  Franklin  was  in  his 
manufactory,  taking  more  delight  in  business 
than  it  was  possible  for  him  to  take  in  any  other 
way. 

But  the  very  first  summer  that  followed  his 
emancipation,  Mr.  Franklin  proposed  a  tour  of 
pleasure  and  a  visit  to  the  springs.  The  chil 
dren  received  the  proposition  with  exclamations 
of  delighv.  Florence,  especially,  was  in  ecsta- 
cies  on  the  subject.  Mrs.  Franklin  made  no 
opposition,  but  she  anticipated  but  little  pleasure 
from  the  change. 

For  weeks  the  busy  note  of  preparation  was 
heard,  and  then  the  whole  family  took  a  flight 
to  Saratoga.  But  not  a  day  passed  while  they 
were  there,  that  something  annoying  to  Mr. 
Franklin,  did  not  occur.  Either  he  was  jostled 
or  crowded  out  of  his  place  by  some  exquisite, 
whom,  in  his  sturdy  republicanism  he  felt  like 
strangling,  or  he  was  neglected  by  the  waiters 
at  the  table,  and  thus  deprived  of  all  appetite 


A    TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  43 

for  dinner.  One  day  he  would  seat  himself  and 
family  in  reserved  chairs,  and  have  to  endure 
the  mortification  of  a  removal  when  the  party 
for  whom  they  had  been  turned  down,  appeared 
in  the  dining  room  ;  and  another  day  he  would 
run,  in  his  ignorance,  against  some  other  estab 
lished  usage  of  the  hotel  where  he  was  staying, 
and  have  his  blood  raised  almost  to  boiling 
point,  when  he  felt  the  re-action  that  was  pro 
duced. 

The  only  members  of  the  family  who  really 
enjoyed  themselves,  were  Edwin,  just  from 
college,  and  Florence,  who  had  received  from 
the  young  ladies  of  the  fashionable  school  to 
which  she  had  been  sent  for  a  few  months,  as 
many  ideas  on  the  subject  of  "  the  Springs,"  as 
enabled  her  to  take  her  share  in  the  passing 
gaieties.  Edwin  met,  as  usual,  half-a-dozen 
young  men  from  the  city,  and  two  or  three  from 
college,  with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  inti 
macy,  and  they  introduced  him  to  the  lions  of 
the  place  ;  while  Florence  found  herself  again 
restored  to  the  companionship  of  several  well- 
bred  Misses,  whose  sayings  and  doings  had 
greatly  instructed  her  in  the  brief,  but  pleasant 

season,  that  she  passed  in  Mrs.  G 's  semi- 

uary. 

"  I  don't  like  things  here,"  said  Mi .  Franklin, 


44  RETIRING    FKOM    BUSINESS. 

gravely,  as  he  sat  alone  with  his  wife,  on  th<» 
fourth  or  fifth  day  after  their  arrival. 

"Nor  do  I,"  replied  Mrs.  Franklin.  "As 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  would  much  rather  be 
at  home  ;  and  I  am  sure  Edwin,  Florence,  and 
the  rest,  would  be  much  better  there.  The 
company  here  is  doing  them  no  good." 

"  Not  a  particle.  Edwin  has  got  in  with  a 
parcel  of  young  fellows,  dear  knows  who  they 
are  ;  and  they're  off  somewhere  out  of  sight, 
more  than  half  the  time.  I  gave  him  thirty 
dollars,  the  day  before  we  left  home ;  and  he 
came  to  me  this  morning  for  as  much  more." 

"  Edwin  !"  said  Mrs.  Franklin,  in  surprise. 

"  Yes,  Edwin." 

"  Did  you  give  it  to  him  ?" 

"  Why,  yes.  I  did  not  like  to  refuse.  But  I 
have  since  wished  that  I  had  done  so.  He's  no 
business  to  spend  money  after  this  rate." 

"  What  does  he  do  with  it  ?"  enquired  the 
mother. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  I've  seen  him 
riding  out  every  day  with  three  or  four  others. 
As  likely  as  not  he  pays  for  the  horses,  and 
treats  the  company  into  the  bargain.  It's  jus* 
like  hiii." 

Mrs.  Franklin  looked  serious. 


A    TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  45 

"It's  not  the  right  place  for  him,  that  is 
clear,"  said  Mr.  Franklin. 

"No,  nor  for  Florence  either,"  remarked 
Mrs.  Franklin.  "  I  have  not  been  satisfied  at 
all* with  the  company  into  which  she  has  been 
introduced.  At  least  three  or  four  of  her  late 
schoolmates  are  here,  and  they  are  too  much 

like  Anna  R ,  now  Mrs.  Elmer,  to  be  oi 

any  service  to  her.  Is  not  that  her  now  ?" 

And  Mrs.  Franklin  directed  her  husband's 
attention  to  a  number  of  young  people,  of  both 
sexes,  who  were  walking  at  a  little  distance. 

Mr.  Franklin  looked  attentively,  for  a  few 
moments,  and  then  said, 

"  Yes,  that  is  Florence.  But  who  is  the 
young  fellow  on  whose  arm  she  is  leaning,  and 
who  is  talking  to  her  with  such  earnest  familia 
rity." 

"  I  don't  know.  But  I  have  seen  him  with 
her  two  or  three  times.  Last  night  he  danced 
with  her ;  I  asked  her  his  name,  and  she  said 
it  was  Le-Le-Le —  something — Le  Grand. 
Yes,  that's  it — Le  Grand." 

"  Le  Grand — Le  Grand.  I  must  know  who 
he  is,"  said  Mr.  Franklin,  rising  and  going  to 
the  bar. 

"  Is  there  a  person  here  by  the  name  of  L* 
Grand  ?"  he  'isked  of  a  bai -keeper. 


46  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

"  There  is,"  was  replied. 

"Where  is  he  fiom?" 

"The  south,  I  believe." 

"  What  part  ?" 

The  register  was  consulted. 

"  From  Charleston.  He's  the  son  of  t* 
wealthy  cotton-grower,  I  understand." 

"Ah!     Who  says  so?" 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  that.  So  it  is 
understood  here." 

Mr.  Franklin  turned  away  and  passing  from 
the  hotel  into  the  open  air,  put  himself  in  a 
position  that  enabled  him  to  observe  the  young 
man  attentively.  He  was  talking  earnestly  to 
Florence,  who  seemed  exceedingly  well  pleased 
with  either  him  or  the  subject  of  his  conversa 
tion.  The  result  was  by  no  means  satisfactory 
to  Mr.  Franklin.  Le  Grand  might  or  might  not 
be  the  son  of  a  rich  southern  planter.  But, 
whether  he  were  or  not,  it  was  all  the  same  to 
him ;  he  wanted  nothing  to  do  with  him  ;  and 
cared  still  less  to  have  him  an  associate  of  his 
daughter's.  That  he  was  not  a  true  and  good 
man,  was  plain  to  him  from  a  single  glance  at 
his  face.  And  a  more  attentive  observation  but 
confirmed  the  first  impression. 

"  It  is  high  time  for  us  to  leave  here,"  said 
Mr.  Franklin,  on  returning  to  his  wife.  "  I 


A    TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  47 

don't  like  that  fellow  who  is  so  familiar  with 
Florence.  They  say  he  is  the  son  of  a  wealthy 
cotton-grower  at  the  South.  But  it  is  far  more 
probable  that  he  is  some  penniless  adventurer. 
Depend  upon  it,  this  is  a  bad  place  for  a 
thoughtless  girl  like  our  daughter,  who,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  is  sadly  disappointing  all  my  best 
hopes  in  regard  to  her." 

"  And  is  it  not  just  as  bad  for  a  young  man 
like  Edwin  ?" 

"  Yes ;  equally  so.  His  associates  are  doing 
him  no  good.  We  must  leave  at  once." 

"  And  return  home  direct  ?" 

"  No.  We  can  make  our  proposed  tour  to 
Niagara." 

"  I  care  little  about  going." 

"  I  have  never  been  there,  and  I  wish  very 
much  to  go.  You  ought  also  to  see  the  Falls. 
And  you  know  we  have  promised  the  children 
a  visit  there  this  summer." 

"  True.     Let  us  go,  then,  immediately." 

"  To-morrow "?" 

"Yes.  I  would  not  remain  a  day  longer 
here.  Every  hour  increases,  I  am  well  satisfied, 
the  danger  to  our  children." 

"  We  will  leave  here  in  the  morning,"  said 
Mrs.  Franklin  t )  her  oldest  daughter,  as  soon 
as  she  found  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  her. 


45  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

"  To -morrow  !"  exclaimed  Florence,  with  a 
look  and  tone  of  disappointment. 

"  Yes.  Your  father  and  I  have  concluded  to 
start  for  Niagara  to-morrow." 

"  1  thought  you  were  going  to  spend  two 
weeks  here  ?" 

"  We  have  changed  our  minds  ;  not  finding 
things  as  agreeable  as  we  had  expected." 

"I  am  sure,  ma,  I  find  it  very  pleasant. 
And  so  does  Edwin,  and  the  rest  of  us.  We 
will  all  be  dreadfully  disappointed." 

"  I  am  sorry.  But  your  father  has  decid 
ed  to  leave  in  the  morning,  and  you  will  all 
have  to  be  ready." 

Florence  was  sadly  put  out  by  the  unexpect 
ed  decision  of  her  parents.  Her  countenance  be 
came  serious,  and  her  gaiety  of  manner  left  her. 

"  We  will  all  stay  at  home,  another  season," 
remarked  Mr.  Franklin  to  his  wife,  when  he  ob 
served  the  effect  of  their  intended  departure 
upon  his  daughter. 

"  I  think  it  will  be  much  wiser  to  do  so.  Ah 
me  !  This  is  a  bad  school  for  young  misses." 

"  Or  young  masters  either.  I  saw  Edwin 
just  now,  and  desired  him  to  be  in  readiness  to 
go  in  the  morning.  He  flared  up  in  an  instant, 
l,nd  said  he  could 'nt  go  so  soon  as  that." 

"  He  did !" 


A    TRIP    TO    SARAT  DC!  A.  4U 

"  Yes.  He  imagined,  I  suppose,  that  ho  was 
his  own  master.  But  I  soon  convinced  him  of 
his  error.  Then  he  wanted  me  to  let  him  re 
main  here  until  our  return  from  the  Falls. 
But  I  said  '  No  '  so  emphatically,  that  he  didn't 
repeat  the  request  again.  And  now  he  looks  as 
sulky  as  a  bear.  And  this  is  all  the  thanks  we 
get  for  our  trouble  in  bringing  him  here.  I 
think  I  will  know  better  next  time." 

There  was  still  further  resistance  on  the  part 
of  the  younger  members  of  the  family,  but  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Franklin  had  such  good  reasons  for 
going,  that  all  was  of  no  avail. 

It  was  the  mother's  intention  to  prevent  Flo 
rence  from  meeting  again  with  the  young  man 
who  has  been  referred  to.  But  the  daughter 
managed  to  elude  her  vigilance,  and  get  into 
his  company  during  the  evening,  when  they 
had  a  long  walk  and  talk  all  to  themselves.  No 
more  reluctance  about  going  was  expressed  after 
this.  The  clouds  all  retired  from  the  young 
lady's  face,  and  she  was  as  eager  to  set  out  for 
the  Falls  as  she  had  been  ere  leaving  home, 
to  start  for  Saratoga.  The  parents  marked  the 
change,  and  wondered  as  to  the  cause. 

On  their  way  from  the  supper  table,  Edwin 
drew  his  father  aside,  and  with  some  hesitation 
of  manner,  requested  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars. 
5 


50  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

"  What !"  returned  Mr.  Franklin  in  surprise 

"  I  would  like  to  have  fifty  dollars." 

"  You  have  already  had  sixty,  and  yet  I  pay 
all  the  bills." 

"  I  know,  but " 

"  But  what  ?" 

"  I  must  have  fifty  dollars  before  I  can  leave." 

"  You  must,  indeed  !" 

"  Yes  Sir.  I — I—  In  fact,  father,  I  owe  that 
much." 

"You  owe  it?" 

"Yes  Sir.  I — I —  I  borrowed  as  much 
from  a  young  man  here." 

"  For  what  purpose  ?" 

"  I  wanted  it." 

"  You  couldn't  have  wanted  it  for  any  good, 
Edwin  ;  I  am  certain  of  that." 

"  You  judge  me  too  severely,  father." 

"  When  a  young  man  of  your  age  spends  ^ 
hundred  dollars  in  less  than  a  week,  and  then 
tries  to  conceal  from  his  father  the  disposition 
made  thereof,  it  is  clear  that  the  money  has  not 
been  used  for  a  good  purpose.  I  can  come  if 
no  other  conclusion." 

"  Will  you  not  let  me  have  the  sum  I  want?' 
asked  Edwin,  after  standing  silent  for  some 
time 

"  Not,  now,  my  son.     i  wish  to  think  about 


A    TRIP    TO    SARATOGA.  51 

the  matter.  But  I  will  say,  that  unless  I  ain 
informed  as  to  the  true  disposition  you  have 
been  making  of  your  money,  I  shall  hardly  feel 
willing  to  supply  the  sum  now  desired." 

Edwin  turned  off  slowly,  with  a  disappointed 
and  troubled  air ;  and  the  father,  as  he  walked 
out  into  the  large  portico,  and  there  paced 
thoughtfully  back  and  forth  for  a  long  time, 
had  a  no  less  troubled  aspect.  In  about  an 
hour  he  was  again  joined  by  Edwin,  who  once 
more  urged  his  former  request.  But  Mr. 
Franklin  was  no  better  prepared  than  at  first  to 
gratify  his  wishes.  The  more  lie  reflected  on 
the  subject  the  more  concerned  did  he  feel. 

"  Indeed,  father,"  said  the  young  man,  "  I 
cannot  leave  here,  honorably,  unless  this  debt  is 
paid." 

"  Let  me  know  for  what  purpose  it  was  con 
tracted,"  replied  Mr.  Franklin.  "Then,  and 
not  before  then,  will  I  pay  it.  To  this  my  mind 
is  fully  made  up." 

Edwin's  countenance  fell.  He  again  turned 
from  his  father,  and  did  not  show  himself  during 
the  evening.  In  the  morning  he  joined  the  fa 
mily  at  the  breakfast  table ;  but  his  appearance 
was  that  of  a  person  who  had  been  up  a  greater 
part  of  the  night.  He  said  no  more  about  the 
fifty  dollars,  and  Mr.  Franklin,  for  reasons  of 


52  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

sufficient  weight  to  himself,  thought  proper  not 
to  allude  to  the  subject. 

In  due  time  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin,  in  com 
pany  with  their  children,  left  the  fashionable 
watering  place  ;  all,  except  Florence  and  the 
younger  children,  looking  as  serious  as  if  going 
to  a  funeral. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DISAPPOINTMENT. 

MUCH  to  the  disappointment  and  concern  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin,  they  discovered  very 
soon  after  starting  on  their  western  journey,  that 
Mr.  Le  Grand  was  a  fellow  passenger.  He  oc 
cupied  a  seat  contiguous  to  the  one  that  con 
tained  Florence  ;  and,  soon  after  the  cars  started, 
engaged  her  in  conversation.  A  suitable  op 
portunity  offering,  Florence  introduced  him  to 
her  father  and  mother.  As  the  young  man's 
manner  was  extremely  courteous,  they  could  not 
treat  him  rudely ;  the  more  especially  as  it 
might  be  true  that  he  was  a  member  of  a 
southern  family  of  wealth  and  stan-dino-. 

Availing  himself  of  the  introduction,  Mr.  Le 


DISAPPOINTMENT.  53 

Grand  presumed  to  make  himself  extrcmel} 
agreeable  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin.  Having 
before  travelled  along  the  route  they  had  taken, 
he  was  familiar  with  all  the  localities,  and 
posted  up  in  regard  to  any  historical  association 
connected  with  points  or  places  through,  or 
near  which  they  passed.  Affable  in  his  manners, 
possessed  of  fine  conversational  powers,  and  in 
telligent  beyond  the  ordinary  class  of  men,  it 
was  no  very  hard  matter  for  Mr.  Le  Grand  to 
remove,  to  some  extent,  the  prejudice  with 
which  his  approaches  had  been  anticipated. 
Before  the  first  day's  ride  was  completed,  he 
was  on  such  good  terms  with  all  the  family  as 
scarcely  to  be  considered  a  stranger. 

But,  for  all  this,  neither  Mr.  Franklin  nor  his 
wife  was  pleased  with  the  marked  attentions 
that  were  shown  to  their  daughter,  and  much 
less  pleased  at  the  manner  in  which  these  at 
tentions  were  received.  In  their  eyes,  she  was 
little  more  than  a  child ;  and  they  still  wished 
others  to  regard  her  in  the  same  light. 

In  this  light  it  was  plair  that  Le  Grand  did 
nut  regard  her. 

Three  days  were  passed  at  the  Falls,  and 
then  a  trip  down  the  St.  Lawrence  was  deter 
mined  upon.  This  was  the  very  route  the  affa 
ble  southerner  had  decided  upon  taking  beforo 


54  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

ieaving  Saratoga.  He  was,  of  course,  a  fellow 
voyager.  At  Montreal  they  parted  company. 
But  met  again  at  Lake  Champlain.  Determined 
to  get  rid  of  a  man  whom  he  could  not  throw 
off,  Mr.  Franklin  took  the  quickest  route  home 
ward.  When  the  doors  of  his  own  house 
closed  upon  him,  he  breathed  more  freely. 

Had  the  summer  trip  been  a  source  of  plea 
sure  to  Mr.  Franklin  ?  Far,  very  far  from  it ! 
He  had  not  spent  a  single  comfortable  hour 
since  leaving  home,  and  he  came  back  with  the 
painful  conviction  that  his  two  oldest  children 
had  been  injured  by  coming  in  contact  with  im 
proper  associates.  Mrs.  Franklin  showed  plainly 
that  she  had  returned  wTith  a  weight  upon  her 
feelings.  Edwin  was  changed  ;  and  no  longer 
met  the  family  with  a  cheerful  countenance. 
Something  that  did  not  bring  pleasant  thoughts 
was  upon  his  mind.  And,  as  for  Florence,  she 
evinced  little  interest  in  anything,  and  much  pre 
ferred  being  alone  than  with  her  mother. 

How  changed  was  this  family  !  A  year  be 
fore  Mr.  Franklin  was  daily  occupied  in  active 
business,  and  his  children  were  as  earnestly  en 
gaged  in  pursuing  their  studies.  When  they 
met,  cheerfulness  pervaded  the  circle.  They 
were  net  robbed  of  happiness  by  unsatisfied 
dreams;  nor  filled  with  dread  as  the  shadows 


DISAVP  OINTMENT.  55 

of  approaching  evil  fell  upon  them.  None 
thought  of  going  from  home  in  search  of  plea 
sure,  for  the  hearth  -fire  blazed  warmly,  and  all 
felt  its  genial  influence. 

But  it  Avas  different  now.  Mr.  Franklin 
having  retired  from  the  useful  position  he  occu 
pied  in  society,  must  needs  do  something — to 
be  entirely  idle  was  impossible — and  he  had, 
unfortunately  put  his  hand  to  a  work,  the  fruit 
of  which  proved  evil.  The  removal  of  Florence 
from  her  school  was,  apparently,  a  little  matter ; 
but  sad  effects  followed,  as  has  been  seen.  Just 
at  the  most  dangerous  age,  she  was  thrown 
among  associates,  whose  influence  upon,  her  was 
anything  but  good  ;  and  her  feelings  had  re 
ceived  a  bias  that  caused  her  parents  serious 
alarm. 

In  search  of  some  new  mode  of  passing  the 
time,  a  visit  to  the  Springs  was  proposed.  The 
effect  upon  at  least  two  members  of  his  family 
is  already  partially  apparent,  and  Mr.  Franklin 
might  well  tremble  for  the  ultimate  result. 

Edwin  had  come  home,  a  short  time  previous 
to  the  trip  to  Saratoga,  having  completed  his 
•:ollegiate  term.  It  was  only  a  week  or  two 
before  starting  on  this  tour  of  pleasure,  that  he 
had  expressed  his  utter  unwillingness  to  enter 
upon  the  study  of  law,  for  which  profession  his 


66  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

father  had  designed  him.  Shortly  after  their 
return  from  Saratoga  and  the  Falls,  ,he  subject 
was  renewed,  when  Edwin  expressed  a  still  more 
decided  aversion. 

"  What  profession,  then,  will  you  choose  ?" 
asked  Mr.  Franklin,  with  some  petulance  of 
manner. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  become  a  professional 
man  at  all,"  said  Edwin.  "  My  inclinations  do 
not  lead  me  that  way  !" 

"  Then,  pray,  in  what  direction  do  they  lead 
you  ?" 

"  I  would  much  prefer  going  into  some  busi 
ness." 

"  You  are  too  young  for  that.  And,  besides, 
iiave  not  received  a  business  education." 

"  It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  learn  ?" 

"  No.  But  you  will  not  be  willing  to  go  into 
a  store  or  counting-room,  for  three  or  four  years, 
in  order  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  business." 

"  I  would  rather  do  that,  than  attempt  the 
law,  for  which  I  have  a  great  dislike." 

"  But  all  business  is  precarious.  Not  one  in 
twenty,  who  enter  the  avenues  of  trade,  escapes 
disaster.  In  the  professions,  it  is  not  so.  Suc 
cess  is  more  gradual,  but  it  is  more  certain.  As 
i  professional  man,  you  will  be  removed  from 
the  agitations,  losses,  and  anxieties  of  trade; 


DISAPPOINTMENT.  57 

and  starting  with  a  competency,  can  go  on, 
steadily  advancing  until  you  gain  wealth,  and 
distinction,  at  the  same  time.  To  a  young  man 
in  your  position,  one  of  the  learned  professions 
is  in  every  way  to  be  preferred." 

But  Edwin  thought  differently.  He  preferred 
business  to  study.  Reluctantly  did  Mr.  Frank 
lin  seek  for  him  a  place  in  a  commercial  house. 
While  he  was  doing  so,  under  the  pressure  of 
a  natural  anxiety  for  his  son,  a  wish  that  he  had 
never  withdrawn  from  business,  more  than  once 
crossed  his  mind.  Had  he  still  been  engaged  in 
his  extensive  manufacturing  operations,  he  could 
have  taken  Edwin  into  his  counting-room,  and, 
retaining  him  thus  under  his  own  care,  have 
made  him  extremely  useful,  and  at  the  same 
time,  imparted  a  knowledge  of  his  business.  In 
a  few  years,  he  could  come  in  as  a  partner, 
while  he,  in  retiring  then,  would  have  left  his 
son  in  a  fair  way  of  amassing  an  independence 
for  himself. 

But  this  opportunity  was  now  gone.  He  was 
a  retired  gentleman,  and  had  no  business  into 
which  he  could  bring  his  son.  The  only  expe 
dient,  therefore,  was  to  get  him  into  some  good 
house,  and  hope  for  a  favorable  result.  This 
was  accordingly  done,  and  at  the  age  of  nine 
teen;  Fdwin,  who  had  already  formed  some  inti- 


58  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

mate  associations  with  young  men  of  the  city, 
whom  he  had  met  at  the  Springs,  entered  a  netf 
world.  The  establishment  into  which  he  was 
introduced,  was  an  extensive  one,  and  employed 
about  twenty-five  clerks,  many  of  them  the 
sons  of  wealthy  parents.  Several  of  these 
were  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  liberal  allowance  of 
pocket  money ;  thus  having  in  their  hands  the 
means  of  dissipation,  which  a  few  of  them  did 
not  fail  to  use. 

With  no  love  for  intellectual  pursuits,  and 
naturally  inclined  to  sensual  indulgence,  the  po 
sition  of  Edwin,  was  anything  but  a  safe  one. 
Mr.  Franklin  felt  that  it  was  unsafe,  but  did  not 
clearly  comprehend  the  reason.  Had  he  done 
so,  he  would  have  deemed  the  advantages  to  be 
gained  in  the  house  where  he  had  placed  his 
son,  as  of  no  moment  whatever,  when  consid 
ered  in  view  of  the  injury  that  must  inevitably 
be  suffered.  But  Mr.  Franklin,  was  not  a  man 
sufficiently  accurate  in  his  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  nor  well  enough  learned  in  mental  philo 
sophy,  to  be  able,  abstractly,  to  determine  the 
exact  effect  of  circumstances  upon  a  particular 
temperament.  Life  was  to  him  a  problem  ;  and 
iT_ie  relation  between  mental  causes  and  u^.t'- 
mate  results  one  of  the  arcana  that  he  had  been 
unable  to  enter,  by  the  fV>r~,r}  of  his  own  reason 


DISAPPOINTMENT.  59 

There  were  certain  wise  saws  and  oft  repealed 
axioms,  that  to  him  had  become  self-evident 
truths ;  and  when  circumstances  led  to  their  appli 
cation  in  real  life,  he  made  them  standards  of 
action.  But  in  new  and  untried  positions,  where, 
by  the  light  of  his  own  intelligence  he  was  re 
quired  to  see  the  right  way,  his  uninstructed 
mind  gave  him  little  aid.  In  business,  he  had 
followed  in  the  well  beaten  paths.  Industry, 
prudence,  and  economy,  all  directed  by  an  earnest 
desire  to  accumulate  money,  made  success  cer 
tain.  Here,  by  a  long  concentration  of  his 
thoughts,  intelligence  in  business  matters  had 
grown  clearer,  and  when  sufficient  means  of 
enlargement  came,  he  was  prepared  to  intro 
duce  machinery,  and  to  extend  largely  his  ope 
rations. 

The  introduction  of  his  children  into  the 
world,  however,  was  an  untried  experiment  with 
Mr.  Franklin,  and  the  difficulties  appertaining 
thereto,  were  never  clearly  apparent  until  no\v. 
If  he  had  been  in  business  when  Edwin  came 
home  from  college,  it  would  have  been  an  easy 
thing,  he  saw,  to  have  introduceu  him  into  it. 
The  young  man  would  then  have  been  under 
his  own  eye,  and  he  could  have  given  him  an 
interest,  in  order  to  balance  his  mind  against 
undue  social  attractions,  so  soon  as  prudence 


60  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

dictated  the  step.  Now,  however,  he  would 
have  to  take  his  chance  ;  and  when  Mr.  Frank 
lin  recollected  Edwin's  associations  at  the 
Springs,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  spent  money 
there  with  a  strange  person — for  what,  he  was 
yet  ignorant — he  might  well  fear  for  the 
result. 

In  thinking  of  Florence,  his  eldest  daughter, 
now  at  the  most  critical  age,  the  father  had  lit 
tle  more  to  encourage  him.  She  had  suddenly 
changed  from  a  modest,  unassuming  girl,  into  a 
forward,  self-reliant  young  Miss.  The  origin  of 
that  change  he  could  too  accurately  trace.  The 
cause  lay  at  his  own  door.  He  had  disturbed 
the  regular  progress  of  her  education.  Broken 
up  old  associations  that  were  good,  and  intro 
duced  her,  ignorantly  on  his  part,  among  those 
whose  influence  and  example  had  the  worst  pos 
sible  effect  upon  her.  She  was  not  a  strong 
minded  girl.  In  fact,  there  was  no  marked  in 
tellectual  character  about  any  of  the  family. 
The  children  were  precisely  of  that  stamp  so  fre 
quently  seen  among  those  who  have  risen  into 
affluence  by  what  may  be  called  a  sort  of  unin- 
tellectual  devotion  to  business,  in  which  the 
higher  powers  of  the  mind  have  remained 
asleep.  As  to  eminence  in  anything,  that  was 
next  to  impossible  for  them  to  obtain.  They 


DJSAPPOINTMENT.  61 

lacked,  by  birth,  sufficient  mental  activity.  No 
wonder  Edwin  had  no  fancy  for  such  hard  work 
as  the  study  of  law  appeared  in  prospect.  A 
course  of  four  years  at  college,  in  which  he  was 
distinguished  for  nothing,  was  sufficient  expe 
rience  in  mental  labor  for  him. 

Such  being  the  character  of  Florence— we 
might  almost  have  said,  want  of  character — any 
change  of  associations  such  as  we  have  men 
tioned,  could  not  but  be  permanently  injurious. 
With  a  mind  unbalanced  by  serious  thoughts  of 
any  kind,  and  uninstructed  in  regard  to  life  and 
its  mighty  considerations,  it  was  but  natural  that 
she  should  step  aside  into  the  first  path  that 
allured  her  feet. 

If  Mr.  Franklin  had,  while  in  business,  per 
mitted  his  thoughts  wisely  to  regard  his  family ; 
if  he  had,  as  his  children's  minds  began  to  open 
to  the  light,  divided  his  attention  between  them 
and  his  manufactory ;  if  he  had  studied  their 
character,  wants,  and  destiny,  with  half  the 
earnestness  that  he  studied  the  m^ans  and  ends 
appertaining  to  a  successful  issue  of  his  busi 
ness,  he  would,  as  a  consequence,  have  lived 
along  with  them  from  year  to  year,  and  so. 
guided  the  development  of  their  characters  and 
guarded  their  future  steps  as  to  have  provided 
against  the  evils  which  had  fallen  upon  tliem. 
6 


82  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

Had  this  been  the  case,  he  might  even  have  ra 
tired  from  business,  without  their  suffering  any 
disturbing  consequences.  •  The  effects  of  this 
unwise  step  would  then  have  been  felt  more 
particularly  in  his  own  person. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

AN   UNWELCOME    VISITOR, 

WITH  nothing  in  the  world  to  do,  his  mind 
painfully  concerned  about  his  two  oldest  chil 
dren,  and  restless  and  anxious  in  regard  to  the 
two  youngest,  Mr.  Franklin  was  a  most  unhappy 
man.  James  and  Louisa,  who  had  been  taken 
from  their  old  school  and  entered  in  the  new  one 
with  Florence,  were  removed  from  the  lattei 
establishment  at  the  same  time  with  their  sister. 
The  mother  wished  them  to  go  back  to  the 
school  from  which  they  had  been  at  first  taken. 
But  Mr.  Franklin  objected  to  this.  Having  as 
sumed  that  it  was  not  a  good  school,  his  pride 
of  consistency  would  not  let  him  lecede  from 
this  position.  They  were,  in  consequence,  en 
tered  at  another  academy,  or,  rather  at  two 
different  academies,  the  one  especially  for  young 


AN    UNWELCOME   VISITOR.  63 

gentlemen,  and  the  other  for  young  ladies. 
Neither  of  these  schools  satisfied  Mr.  Franldin. 
They  were  not  good,  or  he  imagined  they  were 
not,  which  was  all  the  same,  so  far  as  his 
peace  of  mind  was  involved.  Having  no  busi 
ness  to  think  about,  he  had  of  necessity  to  con 
cern  himself  about  something ;  and  as  his  chil 
dren  were  now  the  most  prominent  objects  of 
interest,  they  furnished  food  for  as  much  trou 
ble  as  was  needful  to  make  him  about  as  mise 
rable  as  he  could  wish  to  feel. 

Florence,  now  a  young  lady  in  her  own  eyes, 
was  not,  of  course,  to  be  mewed  up  at  home. 
She  had  fashionable  acquaintances,  and  must 
needs  visit  them,  and  receive  their  visits  in  re 
turn.  And  as  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  retired 
gentleman  of  fortune,  whose  wealth  was  estimat 
ed  at  something  like  half  a  million  of  dollars, 
there  was  no  scarcity  of  attractive  young  men, 
ready  to  dance  attendance  on  her  at  every  turn  ; 
while  some,  bolder  than  the  rest,  returned  a 
morning  call  now  and  then,  or  tendered  a  beau 
tiful  bouquet  of  choice  flowers. 

Much  against  her  mother's  views  and  wishes, 
Florence  insisted  upon  "  coming  out"  during  the 
succeeding  winter.  She  had  entered  her  eigh 
teenth  year,  and  considered  herself  old  enough 
to  lay  off  the  girl,  and  plaj'  her  part  in  society 


64  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS*. 

as  a  woman.  To  parties,  balls,  the  oj».ii,  and 
other  public  entertainments  she  must  now  go, 
and  take  her  share  in  the  world  of  fashionable 
gaieties.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin  offered  only  a 
feeble  resistance  to  their  daughter's  wishes. 
To  protect  her  as  far  as  possible,  they  always 
accompanied  her  to  places  of  public  amusement, 
and  never  gave  their  consent  for  her  to  attend 
balls  or  parties,  unless  they  went  also.  By  this 
means  they  hoped  to  keep  her  ever  within  the 
circle  of  their  observation,  and  be  prepared  to 
guard  her  from  the  approaches  of  danger. 

But  over  Edwin,  it  was  impossible  to  extend 
even  this  observant  care.  He  was  a  young  man, 
and  there  could  be  less  restraint  thrown  over 
his  actions.  For  the  greater  part  of  bis  time, 
he  was  from  under  his  parents'  eyes,  and  it  was, 
therefore,  impossible  for  them  to  know  what  in 
fluences  were  operating  upon  him.  To  some 
extent  they  could  see  the  effects,  but  that  only 
awoke  uneasiness,  while  it  placed  in  their  hands 
no  counteracting  forces. 

No  event  of  importance  transpired  during  the 
winter,  except  the  unwelcome  appearance  of 
Mr.  Le  Grand,  who,  in  passing  through  the 
city,  as  he  said,  coolly  enough  called  upon  the 
family  as  familiarly  as  if  he  were  an  old  ac 
quaintance;  and  invited  Florence  to  go  with 


AN    UNWELCOME    VISITOR.  65 

him  to  the  opera  on  the  next  evening.  The 
young  lady  readily  assented.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Franklin  were  far  from  being  pleased  ;  but  they 
did  not  forbid  Florence  going ;  when  Mr.  Le 
Grand  called  for  her,  he  found  that  he  was  to 
make  one  of  a  family  party.  He  seemed  not  in 
the  least  disappointed  at  this,  but  instead,  ex 
pressed  his  pleasure  at  having  the  company  of 
Mr.  and  Mi's.  Franklin  so  warmly,  that  they  be 
gan  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  suspicions 
they  had  held  in  regard  to  him,  and  gave  him 
credit  for  being  a  most  agreeable  and  highly  in 
telligent  young  gentleman;  and  even  forgot 
themselves  so  far  as  to  express  pleasure  at  his 
having  had  the  politeness  to  call  upon  them 
while  passing  a  few  days  in  the  city.  He  said 
that  he  had  come  on  north  to  transact  some  of 
ficial  business  of  great  importance  for  the  Gov 
ernor  of  his  State,  and  that  he  would  return 
through  New  York  in  a  week  or  two,  when  he 
would  do  himself  the  pleasure  to  call  again. 

According  to  promise,  at  the  end  of  three 
weeks,  another  visit  was  received  from  Mr.  Le 
Grand.  In  the  interim,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin 
had  thought  and  talked  a  good  deal  about  him, 
and  both  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  he  had 
taken  an  unwarrantable  liberty,  in  forcing  him 
self  upon  the  family,  on  the  mere  plea  of 
6* 


86  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

having  been  introduced  to  their  daughter  at  the 
Springs,  and  being  in  their  company  for  a  few 
days  as  passengers,  in  the  same  public  convey 
ances.  The  reception  which  the  young  man 
met,  was  not  so  agreeable  as  at  first,  and  his 
second  invitation  to  Florence,  to  accompany  him 
to  a  place  of  public  entertainment,  though  ac 
cepted  by  the  young  lady,  was  not  approved 
by  her  parents. 

When  he  called  for  Florence,  in  accordance 
with  the  engagement  made,  he  was  informed  by 
a  servant  that  she  was  indisposed,  and  could 
not  be  seen  that  night.  Neither  Mr.  nor  Mrs. 
Franklin  made  their  appearance.  He  under 
stood  very  well  what  this  meant. 

On  tk  next  day,  a  note  was  received  from 
Mr.  Le  Grand  by  Florence,  in  which  he 
expressed  his  regret  for  her  indisposition,  spoke 
of  the  pleasure  he  had  lost,  in  not  having  been 
favored  with  her  company,  hoped  her  indisposi 
tion  was  but  temporary,  mentioned  that  he 
would  leave  for  the  South  that  afternoon,  and 
concluded  with  a  request  to  make  his  compli 
ments  to  her  parents. 

His  departure  from  the  city  was  a  relief  tc 
the  minds  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin.  Sincerely 
did  they  hope  that  he  would  never  cross  theii 
path  again;  for,  notwithstanding  his  frequent 


A    CHANGE    PROPOSED.  67 

illusions  to  Ms  high  connexions  at  the  South, 
his  intelligence  and  gentlemanly  bearing,  they 
had  strong  suspicions  that  he  was  only  a  bold 
adventurer,  who  possessed  neither  wealth,  social 
standing,  nor  principle. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

A     CHANGE     PROPOSED. 

BY  the  next  spring,  Mr.  Franklin's  unsatisfied 
state  of  mind,  consequent  upon  having  nothing 
to  do,  had  increased  to  such  a  degree,  that  he 
determined  to  buy  a  handsome  country  resi 
dence,  a  few  miles  from  the  city,  v»hich  was 
offered  for  sale,  and  amuse  himself  as  an  ama 
teur  farmer.  A  temporary  interest  in  agricul 
ture  had  been  awakened,  in  consequence  of 
having  strolled  one  day  into  a  farmer's  club, 
where  he  listened  to  some  of  the  proceedings  ; 
and  it  was  kept  alive,  afterwards,  by  a  friend 
who  owned  a  small  farm  on  Long  Island,  and 
who  spoke  in  the  warmest  terms  of  the  pleasure 
its  cultivation  gave  him. 

This  proposal,  however,  did  not  meet  the 
approval  of  his  family.  Mrs.  Franklin  had  no 


68  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

taste  for  country  life,  and  the  idea  of  removing 
from  the  city,  was  one  that  gave  her  little 
pleasure. 

"  I  don't  think  it  will  be  as  well,"  she  replied 
to  her  husband's  proposal.  "  James  and 
Louisa,  will  have  to  be  taken  from  school " 

"Not  at  all,"  he  interrupted  her.  "They 
can  come  into  the  city  every  day." 

"  Six  or  seven  miles  ?" 

"  Yes.  The  carriage  can  bring  them  in 
every  morning,  and  the  ride  will  do  them  good." 

"  But  there  must  occur  many  interruptions. 
Storms,  or  slight  indisposition,  wili  prevent  their 
going." 

"  Not  much  oftener  than  the  same  causes  in 
terfere  with  their  studies  now." 

"But,  Edwin,  it  will  throw  him  off  from 
home.  He  will  then  Le,  more  than  ever,  mas 
ter  of  his  own  actions." 

"  He  can  come  home  with  James  and  Louisa 
every  evening,  and  go  in  with  them  in  the  morn 
ing.  This  will  remove  him  from  his  present 
associates,  and  compel  him,  as  it  were,  to  spend 
his  evenings  at  home." 

"  If  that  could  be  done." 

•'  It  can  be  done.  The  fact  is,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  this  ought  to  be  a  conclusive  one  in  fa 
vor  of  our  removal  from  the  city." 


A    CHANGE    PROPOSED.  69 

"  I  am  afraid  Edwin's  employers  would  not 
consent  to  his  coming  to  the  store  so  late,  and 
leaving  his  business  so  early." 

"  I'll  arrange  all  that.  There'll  be  no  diffi 
culty.  And  if  J  could  only  get  him  inte 
rested  in  agricultural  pursuits,  I  would  remove 
him  entirely  from  the  city.  There  is  less  dan 
ger  both,  to  the  morals  and  the  purse,  in  a  far 
mer's  life  than  in  the  merchant's.  An  intelligent 
system  of  agriculture  ensures  certain  results, 
while,  in  trade,  a  thousand  causes  often  com 
bine  to  produce  disaster.  A  farmer  has  few 
inducements  to  be  dishonest ;  but  temptation  be 
sets  the  merchant  at  every  turn.  Edwin  must 
have  a  pursuit  in  life.  He  must  be  engaged  in 
some  useful  employment.  An  idle  brain,  you 
know,  has  been  called  the  devil's  workshop  ;  and 
of  young  men,  the  saying  is  most  undoubtedly 
true.  He  has  no  taste  whatever  for  the  pro 
fession  for  which  we  designed  him  ;  and  I  have 
no  wish  to  see  him  a  merchant,  for  I  know  that 
failure  will  be  the  inevitable  result  whenever  he 
ventures  into  business,  and  venture,  of  course,  he 
will.  Losses,  be  they  large  or  small,  will  most 
likely  fall  upon  me.  If  I  were  still  at  the  head 
of  my  old  establishment,  I  could  bring  him  into 
that,  and  in  a  few  years  he  could  succeed  me 
By  retaining  an  interest  I  could  still  exercise 


70  RETIRING    FKOM   BUSINESS. 

control,  and  thus  prevent  him  from  invoh  ing 
himself,  if  he  departed  from  a  prudent  line  of 
operations." 

"That  is  out  of  the  question  now,", said  Mi's. 
Franklin,  in  a  tone  that  expressed  regret  that 
such  an  opportunity  for  their  son  was  not  still 
open. 

"  Yes.  It  is  even  so.  And  now  we  must  do 
the  best  we  can.  The  place  I  think  of  buying 
is  most  beautifully  situated,  as  you  know.  It 
contains  thirty  acres  of  ground,  upon  which  I 
will  establish  a  model  farm,  cost  what  it  may. 
I  feel  sanguine  of  being  able  to  interest  Edwin's 
mind,  first  in  fruits  and  flowers,  and  then  in  the 
more  important  productions  of  the  soil.  I  will 
hold  out  every  possible  inducement.  He  shall 
have  a  farm  of  his  own,  the  moment  he  feels 
willing  to  enter  upon  its  independent  culture. 

And  Mr.  Franklin,  warming  with  this  idea, 
continued  to  expatiate  thereon  for  some  time. 
But  his  wife  had  no  confidence  in  the  good  re 
sult  of  this  new  scheme.  She  had  no  taste  for 
a  country  life  herself,  and  could  not  conceive  it 
possible  for  a  young  man  like  Edwin  to  find  any 
interest  whatever  in  the  tame  and  common-place 
pursuits,  as  they  appeared  to  her,  connected 
with  a  tillage  of  the  soil.  And  she  was  right,  so 
far  as  her  son  was  concerned.  The  proposition 


A    CHANGE    PROPOSED.  7l 

to  remove  to  the  country  pleased  him  very 
much,  for  the  fiist  thought,  connected  with  him 
self,  that  it  occasioned  was  in  reference  to  the 
greater  freedom  of  action  the  consequent  sepa 
ration  from  the  family  would  give  him.  When 
his  father  said — 

"  You  can  be  at  home  at  night  as  usual,  for 
the  carriage  will  be  in  town  every  day,"  he  re 
plied — 

"  I'm  afraid  the  distance  is  so  great  that  I 
will  not  reach  the  store  early  enough  in  the 
morning." 

"  0  yes,  you  will.  But  even  if  you  should 
be  an  hour  later  in  the  morning,  and  be  com 
pelled  to  leave  an  hour  earlier  in  the  afternoon, 
it  will  make  no  great  difference.  I  will  arrange 

matters  with  Messrs.  D and  L ,  so  as 

to  make  it  all  right  with  them." 

"  I  don't  think  it  will  do,"  said  the  young 
man.  "  They  are  very  particular  in  the  matter 
of  punctuality.  E^ery  clerk  must  be  in  the  store 
by  eight  o'clock." 

"  Circumstances  alter  cases,  you  know,"  re 
turned  the  father.  "  I  will  see  that  no  trouble 

arises  on  this  head.     But,  suppose  D and 

•k object ;  you  are  under  no  obligation  to 

remain  with  them." 

"  Of  course  not.     But  to  leave  their  estab- 


72  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS, 

lisliment  would  be  to  deprive  myself  of  ad  van, 
tages  not  readily  gained." 

"  I  don't  know.  At  least  to  nine-tenths  oi 
young  men,  a  knowledge  of  mercantile  affairs  is 
more  injury  than  benefit.  This,  you  are  aware, 
is  my  opinion.  I  have  no  confidence  in  trade. 
Its  fluctuations  are  so  great,  and  its  disturbances 
so  constant,  that  no  foresight  can  guard  against 
the  disasters  they  occasion." 

"  May  not  this  be  said  of  all  pursuits  ?"  re 
marked  the  young  man. 

"  By  no  means,"  replied  the  father.  "  A 
profession,  followed  in  the  right  spirit,  is  far 
more  certain  in  its  beneficial  results.  Agricul 
ture  is  not  curbed  with  the  evils  to  which  I  al 
lude." 

"  Agriculture  !  Would  you  have  mo  become 
a  farmer  ?" 

"  I  would  rather  see  you  a  farmer  than  a 
merchant." 

At  this  declaration  the  young  man  became 
mute  with  surprise.  He  could  hardly  believe 
that  he  had  heard  aright. 

O 

"A  farmer!"  he  exclaimed,  when  he  had  a 
little  recovered  himself. 

"Yes;  a  farmer,"  repeated  Mr.  Franklin. 
"  A  farmer  may  be  contented,  prosperous,  and 
happy.  Removed  from  the  clashing  interests, 


A    CHANGE    PROPOSED.  2 

and  disturbing  influences  of  a  city  life,  he  ma\ 
ride  the  waves  of  prosperity,  free  from  the  dan 
gers  of  storms  and  breakers." 

And  in  this  strain  Mr.  Franklin  went  on,  en 
tering  at  great  length  upon  the  superior  advan 
tages  appertaining  to  a  country,  over  a  city  life, 
and  disclosing,  as  he  did  so,  more  minutely,  the 
plans  he  had  been  turning  over  in  his  mind. 
His  own  model  farm  was  to  be  the  first  experi 
ment,  and  into  this,  he  wished  to  introduce 
Edwin,  in  order  that  the  rudiments  of  an  agri 
cultural  education  might  be  gained,  under  the 
instructions  of  a  practical  farmer,  who  was  to  be 
engaged.  So  eloquently  did  he  descant  upon 
the  beauties  of  the  little  paradise  that  was  to 
grow  up  around  them,  and  so  glowingly  did  he 
picture  the  delights  that  would  arise  when  they 
saw  the  vines  hanging  thick  with  tempting 
clusters,  the  trees  bending  beneath  their  burden 
of  fruit,  and  the  ground  teeming  with  all  the 
luxury  of  vegetation,  that  the  imagination  of  the 
young  man  began  to  warm.  Contrasted  with 
the  freedom  and  beauty  of  all  this,  there  was 
about  the  ware-house  and  counting-room 
something  constrained  and  uninviting.  And 
it  did  not  take  much  after-persuasion  to  induce 
Edwin  to  agree  to  his  father's  wishes. 

Mr.  Franklin's  heart  was  now  light.     He  veri- 


74  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

ly  believed  that  the  change  in  view,  by  remov 
ing  his  son  and  daughter  from  the  perverting 
associations  which  they  had  formed  in  the  city, 
would  be  of  the  most  salutary  nature.  For 
himself,  he  felt  a  restless  enthusiasm  in  regard 
to  the  new  life  contemplated.  He  had  been 
reposing  so  long,  that  on  awakening,  he  was 
like  a  restive  animal,  eager  to  escape  the  rein ; 
and  he  could  not  understand,  in  his  very  want 
of  abstract  thought,  how  it  was  possible  for  any 
one  not  to  find,  in  a  country  life,  every  thing  to 
fill  the  measure  of  his  desires. 

Mrs.  Franklin,  however,  felt  none  of  this  en 
thusiasm  ;  her  mind  was  therefore  calmer,  and 
she  could  look  more  clearly  to  the  end.  She 
knew  that  Edwin  would  take  no  permanent  in 
terest  in  a  pursuit  so  entirely  at  variance  with 
all  his  habits  of  mind  ;  and  her  natural  fear  was, 
that  in  removing  him  from  a  place  where  he 
was  required  to  give  strict  attention  to  business, 
for  at  least  ten  hours  every  day,  under  certain 
fixed  rules,  and  leaving  him  free  to  employ  him 
self  or  not  upon  a  farm,  would  prove  an  injury 
instead  of  a  service.  It  was  not  expected  that 
he  would  put  his  hand  to  the  spade  or  plough  ; 
no  one  wished  him  to  do  that.  The  father's 
idea  was,  if  he  had  any  distinct  idea  on  the  sub 
ject,  that  both  he  and  his  s-m  would  have  a  kind 


MODEL    FARMING.  75 

of  general  superintendence  over  everything,  and 
find  enough  in  this  to  occupy  all  their  time. 
But  Mrs.  Franklin  thought  more  practically  than 
her  husband,  and  knew  that  this  was  but  a 
pleasant  fancy.  Her  fears  for  Edwin  were, 
therefore,  well  grounded. 

As  for  Florence,  she  opposed  the  removal  to 
ihe  country  with  all  the  eloquence  of  words  and 
tears  that  she  could  summon  to  her  aid .  But 
her  disapproval  of  the  measure  did  not  hi  the 
least  retard  its  execution. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MODEL    FARMING. 

THE  beautiful  country  sea^  situated  in  New 
Jersey,  some  five  or  six  miles  from  New  York, 
and  but  a  short  distance  from  the  majestic  Hud 
son,  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Franklin  for  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  Thirty  Acres  of  land 
a  portion  of  it,  already  in  a  h%h  state  of 
cultivation,  lay  around  the  elegant  man3^ 
There  was  a  large  garden,  filled  with  the  choicest 
varieties  of  small  fruit ;  a  young  and  thriving 
orchard,  an  extensive  grapery,  and  a  green- 


7ft  KETIUING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

hov  <3  containing  several  hundred  rare  plants. 
All  he  grounds  contiguous  to  the  dwelling  were 
laid  out  with  taste,  and  ornamented  with  foun 
tains,  statues,  walks,  and  arbors. 

Just  as  nature  was  putting  on  her  spring  at 
tire,  the  family  of  Mr.  Franklin  removed  from 
the  city.  Their  new  house  was  indeed  a  pleas 
ant  one,  and  all  felt  that  it  was  so.  Even  Flo 
rence  said  it  was  a  lovely  spot,  and  the  mother, 
now  that  the  change  was  made,  often  expressed 
herself  as  pleased  with  everything.  She  expe 
rienced  a  sense  of  freedom  not  felt  in  the  city, 
and  her  bosom  seemed  to  expand  with  a  new 
life,  as  she  breathed  the  purer  air.  Florence 
rambled  about  among  the  pleasant  places  which 
taste  had  provided  to  delight  the  eye,  and  for 
a  few  days  thought  it  all  very  delightful.  Af 
ter  that  her  mind  began  to  turn  towards  the 
city,  and  before  two  weeks  elapsed,  she  had,  on 
one  pretence  or  another,  visited  New  York  half 
a  dozen  times.  This  was  an  easy  matter,  as 
the  carriage  went  in  every  day. 

It  was  not  the  wish  of  Mr.  Franklin  that  Ed 
win  should  leave  his  j)lace  immediately  upon 
his  removal  into  the  country.  He  thought  it 
best  to  get  a  little  under  way  himself,  and  fa 
miliar  with  agricultural  matters  so  that,  to  a 
certain  extent,  he  would  be  able  to  give  an  in- 


MODEL    FARMING.  77 

teiligent  direction  to  his  son's  efforts.  But  the 
thought  of  abandoning  mercantile  pursuits  al 
together,  having  once  entered  Edwin's  mind, 
and  an  idea  of  the  freedom  of  a  country  life 
having  bewitched  his  imagination,  he  lost  all  in 
terest  in  business,  and  could  not  be  prevailed 
upon  to  continue  in  his  clerkship,  over  a  few 
weeks  after  the  family  left  the  city. 

To  both  Mr.  Franklin  and  Edwin,  the  new 
pursuit  upon  which  they  had  entered  was  new 
in  every  sense  of  the  word.  The  father,  as  well 
as  the  son,  looked  upon  it  less  as  a  business  than 
as  a  pleasant  kind  of  recreation ;  a  sort  of  half 
work,  half  play  affair.  A  practical  farmer  and 
gardener  had  been  employed  as  overseer.  He 
was  an  Englishman,  and  professed  to  know 
everything  in  relation  to  the  tillage  of  the  soil, 
and  to  be  particularly  at  home  in  matters  of 
horticulture.  He  also  set  forth  that  he  had 
considerable  experience  as  a  florist.  In  fact, 
to  take  his  own  word  for  it,  there  was  no  other 
man  in  the  country  half  so  well  fitted  for  the 
situation  he  held.  For  his  valuable  services, 
Mr.  Franklin  contracted  to  pay  him  twelve  hun 
dred  dollars  a  year.  He  had  two  sons,  stout 
boys,  who  were  represented  to  be  each  as  good 
as  a  man  on  a  farm.  Three  hundred  dollars 
more  were  to  be  paid  for  the  work  of  these  two 
7* 


1  8  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

lads.  A  dairy,  on  a  small  scale,  the  overseer 
said  must  of  course  be  established,  or  the  model 
farm  would  not  be  complete.  Mr.  Franklin  ap 
proved  the  suggestion,  and  the  overseer's  wife 
and  daughter  were  engaged  at  two  dollars  each 
a  week  to  do  all  things  needful  in  the  milk  and 
butter  department. 

Besides  the  overseer,  his  wife,  daughter,  and 
two  sons,  a  regular  farm  hand  at  twenty  dol 
lars  a  month  was  employed.  The  wages  paid 
to  these  model  farmers  and  dairy  maids — six  in 
all — amounted  to  within  a  fraction  of  two  thou 
sand  dollars.  Add  the  cost  of  their  board  to 
this  sum,  and  the  gross  amount  would  not  fall 
very  far  short  of  three  thousand  dollars  per  an 
num,  as  the  cost,  in  wages,  necessary  to  conduct 
Mr.  Franklin's  agricultural  experiments.  In  ad 
dition  to  this  sum  were  the  regular  expenses  of 
the  family,  which,  for  the  past  two  or  three 
years,  had  been  over  four  thousand  dollars,  and 
would  be  fully  that  now ;  and  to  this  the  in 
terest  on  the  sum  wrhich  it  took  to  purchase 
stock,  and  put  the  model  farm  in  a  state  to  en 
sure  the  highest  success  to  the  experiment,  and 
we  have  the  handsome  aggregate  of  nine  thou 
sand  dollars  as  the  regular  annual  expense  at 
which  Mr.  Franklin  was  living. 

While  in  his  regular  business,  Mr.  Franklin 


MODEL    FARMING.  79 

had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  close  estimates. 
But  that  good  habit  seemed  to  have  been  en 
tirely  laid  aside.  He  was  on  new  ground,  and 
unacquainted,  entirely,  with  the  way  in  which 
he  was  walking  with  too-confident  steps.  To 
his  overseer,  he  went  for  all  needful  information, 
and  that  individual,  a  shrewd,  not  over  scrupu 
lous  personage,  managed  him  just  as  he  thought 
fit.  His  answers,  touching  the  productiveness 
of  farming  and  horticulture,  excited  the  most 
extravagant  ideas.  We  would  hardly  like  to  say 
how  much  the  thirty  acres  were  expected  to 
yield  ;  but  even  under  the  heavy  expense 
at  which  his  experiment  Avas  conducted,  Mr. 
Franklin  confidently  looked  for  a  handsome 
profit ! 

The  grounds  around  the  mansion  were  five 
acres  in  extent.  All  this  was  of  course  unpro 
ductive.  Five  acres  had  been  sown  in  wheat, 
the  previous  fall.  The  kitchen  garden  occupied 
half  an  acre,  and  the  flower  garden  as  much 
more.  Two  orchards  covered  each  an  acre  ;  and 
two  acres  were  left  untilled,  as  a  range  for  the 
cattle.  Four  of  the  remaining  fifteen  acres 
were  put  down  in  potatoes,  five  left  for  grass 
four  planted  in  corn,  two  in  carrots  and  othei 
root  crops. 

The  season  proved  a  good  one.     Everything 


80  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

grew  .uxuriantly.  And  it  would  have  been 
strange,  if  such  had  not  been  the  case,  for, 
under  the  overseer's  direction,  the  land  had 
been  covered  with  various  fertilizing  agents,  at 
a  cost  nearly  equal  to  the  price  all  the  products 
could  possibly  yield. 

Deeply  interested  in  his  new  employment, 
Mr.  Franklin  was  moving  about  his  farm,  early 
and  late,  and  entering  into  the  spirit  of  every 
thing.  He  took  the  agricultural  journals,  and 
studied  them  as  attentively  as  a  school-boy 
studies  his  lessons  ;  and  this,  not  without  having 
occasional  doubts  awakened  as  to  the  correct 
ness  of  some  things  done  by  his  overseer.  Oc 
casionally  he  would  say  to  him,  that  such  and 
such  an  agricultural  writer  held  such  and  such 
opinions  on  a  certain  point,  at  variance  with  the 
practice  adopted  on  the  "  model  farm."  But 
the  answer  would  only  be  an  expression  of  con 
tempt  for  all  "book-farming,"  and  a  broad  de 
claration  that  the  man  who  could  write  such 
nonsense  was  nothing  but  a  quack  ;  most  proba 
bly,  if  set  down  on  a  piece  of  ground  by  him 
self,  could  not,  with  his  own  hands,  raise  an 
onion. 

Mr.  Franklin  listened  to  all  this,  but  contin 
ued  to  read,  and  the  more  he  read,  the  more 
his  eyes  were  opened.  By  mid-summer,  his 


MODEL    FARMING.  81 

doubts  in  regard  to  bis  overseer's  plan  of  ope 
rations  bigan  to  assume  a  rather  respectable 
form,  and  his  ideas  touching  the  profits  of  farm 
ing  in  general,  and  this  first  year's  operations  in 
particular,  to  range  discouragingly  low. 

When  the  five  acres  of  wheat  were  harvested, 
and  threshed  out,  instead  of  sixty  or  seventy 
bushels  to  the  acre,  as  he  had  been  led  to 
believe  would  be  obtained,  twenty-five  bushels 
was  the  product,  or  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
for  the  field,  which,  after  the  cost  of  harvesting, 
threshing,  and  carrying  to  market,  returned  him 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars. 

"  A  beggarly  account,  that !"  he  muttered  to 
himself,  as  he  tossed  the  proceeds  into  a  drawer 
of  his  secretary,  and,  with  a  disappointed  feel 
ing,  walked  out  into  the  open  air,  to  think  a 
little  more  understandingly  than  at  first,  on  the 
subject  of  agricultural  returns. 

The  choice  small  fruits  of  the  garden,  straw 
berries,  raspberries,  (fee.,  had  all  been  consumed 
in  the  family ;  and  the  butter  and  cream  pro 
duced  at  a  cost  of  four  dollars  a  week  for  the 
simple  extraction  of  the  lacteal  fluid  and  atten 
tion  to  the  dairy  operations,  had  nearly  all  gone, 
so  far,  in  the  same  way.  Not  over  twenty 
dollars'  worth  had  gotten  beyond  the  home-con 
sumption  market. 


82  RETim^a  FROM  BUSINESS. 


October  came,  with  its  serious  face,  and  its 
matter-of-fact  results.  The  four  acres  of  pota 
toes,  instead  of  yielding  two  hundred  bushels  to 
the  acre,  produced  a  hundred  and  twenty  bush 
els  of  good  tubers,  which  sold  at  forty  cents. 
Four  hundred  and  eighty  bushels,  at  forty  cents, 
gave  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-two 
dollars  for  the  four  acres  of  potatoes.  When 
they  were  planted  in  the  spring,  potatoes  were  a 
dollar  a  bushel.  The  seed,  therefore,  cost  eighty 
dollars,  twenty  bushels  having  been  planted  to 
each  acre.  Added  to  this,  were  fifteen  loads  of 
compost  to  each  acre,  at  a  dollar  a  load,  making 
sixty  dollars  more,  and  leaving  but  fifty-two 
dollars  of  profit  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  tillage. 

The  corn  turned  out  better.  Forty-five 
bushels  were  produced  from  each  acre.  Car 
rots,  ruta  bagas,  and  other  root  crops,  produced 
abundantly,  but  they  sold  for  a  mere  song. 
The  product  of  the  orchards  and  grapery,  were 
very  fair,  but  the  first  two  or  three  attempts  to 
sell,  discouraged  Mr.  Franklin,  and  a  greater 
portion  of  the  fruit  was  either  given  away  or 
suffered  to  rot. 

Nine  thousand  dollars,  it  has  been  seen,  was 
the  expense  at  which  Mr.  Franklin  was  living. 
Added  to  this,  six  hundred  dollars  paid  for 
lime,  marl,  and  composts,  of  various  kinds,  from 


TAKEN    IN.  83 

guano  to  hone  dust,  during  the  season;  five 
hundred  more  for  stock,  and  five  hundred  laid 
out  in  various  improvements,  and  the  sum  is 
swelled  to  ten  thousand  six  hundred  dollars. 

Four  thousand  a  year  was  the  previous  cost 
of  living.  Six  thousand  six  hundred  were  there 
fore  added  to  sustain  the  model  farm  experi 
ment.  And  what,  after  all  the  product  was 
sold,  was  the  return  in  money  ?  Only  just  si* 
hundred  dollars  !  The  six  thousand  were  as 
good  as  thrown  into  the  sea.  So  much  for  the 
profits  of  amateur  fanning. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

TAKEN    IN. 

DURING  the  summer,  while  everything  was 
growing,  and  while  splendid  results  were  in 
prospect,  Mr.  Franklin  was  a  happy  man.  But 
as  crop  after  crop  matured,  and  the  true  result 
presented  itself  in  bushels,  and  the  prices  cur 
rent  gave  a  multiplier  to  these,  the  thermome 
ter  of  his  feelings  began  to  fall.  He  saw  that 
he  had  been  doubly  deceived — by  his  overseer 


84  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

and  by  himself.     He  had  acquired  some  expe 
rience,  but  at  a  serious  price. 

One  day  while  all  the  ifs  were  going  on 
swimmingly,  and  before  Mr.  Franklin's  confi 
dence  in  his  overseer  had  been  impaired,  a  man 
came  and  asked  for  the  latter.  Mr.  Franklin 
pointed  to  where  he  was  at  work  in  the  green 
house.  The  stranger  presented  himself  to  the 
overseer,  and  remained  in  earnest  conversation 
with  him  for  a  good  while.  When  he  went 
away,  the  overseer's  manner  was  changed  from 
what  it  had  been.  He  looked  troubled.  A 
day  or  two  passed,  and  he  still  had  a  thought 
ful  and  anxious  countenance.  On  the  third  day 
the  man  called  again.  As  soon  as  he  was  gone 
away,  the  overseer  sought  Mr.  Franklin,  and 
after  a  good  deal  of  apparent  reluctance,  went 
on  to  state  that  a  brother  residing  on  Long 
Island  had  got  himself  into  difficulties  by  en 
dorsing  for  a  countryman,  who  had  gone  off  and 
left  him  to  pay  the  note,  which,  not  being  able 
to  do,  his  farm  had  been  seized,  and  was  now 
in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff. 

"  That's  bad,"  remarked  Mr.  Franklin. 

"You  may  well  say  that,"  replied  the 
overseer.  "A  more  honest,  industrious  man 
than  my  brother,  does  not  live.  He  laid  by  his 
earnings  for  years  in  order  to  get  a  farm ;  and 


TAKEN    IN.  85 

it  is  only  a  few  months  since  he  paid  the 
last  hundred  dollars  of  the  purchase  money. 
And  to  think  that  he  should  lose  everything ! 
Indeed,  sir,  it  is  very  hard." 

"  Why  did  he  commit  the  folly  of  endorsing 
any  body's  note  ?  That  ruins  more  men  than 
anything  else.  I  would  not  endorse  for  my 
father." 

"  He  was  very  wrong  to  do  it,  sir.  Very 
wrong.  But,  then  the  man  was  an  old  friend. 
None  of  us  thought  that  he  would  act  dis 
honestly." 

"  How  much  was  the  note  for  ?" 

"  A  thousand  dollars." 

"  So  much  as  that  ?" 

"Yes,  sir.  His  farm  is  worth  more  than 
double  this  sum,  but  if  sold  by  the  sheriff,  will 
be  sacrificed." 

"  No  doubt  of  that." 

"  It  will  be  sure  to  be  sacrificed." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  propose  doing  ?  Any 
thing  ?" 

"  We  are  brothers,"  said  the  man  with  much 
feeling.  "  We  have  stood  by  each  other  ever 
since  we  came  from  the  old  country.  Once  I 
was  sick  a  long  time,  and  he  took  care  of  my 
family  all  the  while,  and  never  seemed  to  feel 
their  support  a  burden.  He  has  beep,  a  good 
8 


86  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

brother,  and  I  would  make  any  sacrifice  to  help 
him." 

"  What  is  in  your  mind  ?  Speak  out,"  said 
Mr.  Franklin. 

"  If  you  could  " — And  the  man  spoke  with 
a  good  deal  of  hesitation — "  If  you  could 
advance  me  a  thousand  dollars  on  the  wages 
you  are  paying  us,  I  could  lend  it  to  my  brother, 
and  that  would  save  him  from  ruin  !  I  know 
that  this  is  asking  a  great  deal ;  but  you  must 
forgive  the  boldness  of  the  request.  A  man 
who  is  oppressed  by  circumstances,  will  often 
presume  to  ask  favors,  the  very  thought  of 
which  at  another  time,  would  make  his  cheek 
burn." 

Mr.  Franklin  thought  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  said  promptly, 

"  You  shall  have  it." 

A  light  came  into  the  man's  face,  but  he  did 
not  attempt  to  express  his  gratitude. 

"  When  will  you  want  the  money  ?"  inquired 
Mr.  Franklin. 

"  The  sale  is  to  be  made  to-morrow,  at  twelve 
o'clock." 

"  So  soon  ?" 

"  Yes  sir." 

And  the  overseer  drew  a  printed  bill  from  his 
pocket,  which  announced  the  fact  he  had  stated. 


TAKEN    IN.  8 

"  Then  you  had  better  go  to-day  and  have 
the  matter  arranged.  Come  to  me  when  you 
are  ready  to  leave  for  the  city,  and  I  will  give 
you  a  check  for  the  sum  you  want." 

The  check  was  given,  and  a  receipt  taken. 
Already  the  overseer  and  his  family  had  drawn 
five  hundred  dollars.  Their  wages  for  the  year 
was  to  be  seventeen  hundred ;  only  two  hun 
dred  of  the  entire  sum  therefore,  would  remain. 
This  was  July;  less  than  three  months  from 
the  time  they  had  entered  Mr.  Franklin's  ser 
vice. 

The  overseer  remained  away  all  night.  When 
he  came  back  on  the  next  day,  he  reported  that 
everything  had  been  satisfactorily  arranged; 
and  warmly  expressed  both  his  own  and  his 
brother's  gratitude,  for  the  great  kindness  they 
had  received. 

Not  many  weeks  passed  after  this,  before 
Mr.  Franklin,  observed  a  change  in  the  overseer. 
He  was  not  as  respectful  as  he  had  been  ;  and 
spent  much  more  of  his  time  unprofitably  to  his 
employer,  than  the  latter  fully  approved.  When 
questions  were  asked,  or  suggestions  made,  his 
answers  were  far  from  being  satisfactory.  Be 
fore  two  months  elapsed,  Mr.  Franklin  found  it 
necessary  to  speak  to  him  very  plainly  and  de 
cidedly,  This  offended  the  overseer,  and  he 


88  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

was  exceedingly   disagreeable   to  every   body 
about  the  place  for  a  whole  week. 

After  October,  when  the  whole  result  of  the 
agricultural  season  was  known,  and  the  disap 
pointment  felt  by  Mr.  Franklin  exceedingly  keen, 
mingled  with  a  pretty  strong  feeling  of  indig 
nation  towards  the  individual  who  had  led  him 
so  far  astray  in  his  ignorance,  he  took  occasion 
one  day,  to  speak  his  mind  plakily  to  the  over 
seer.  Being  now  in  possession  of  data,  obtained 
by  dear  bought  experience,  he  was  able  to 
charge  home  upon  him  a  dishonesty  of  purpose 
in  leading  him  into  enormous  expenses,  under  a 
false  idea  of  product.  The  overseer  had  but 
one  argument  in  answer  to  ail  this,  which  was 
to  get  angry,  and  become  abusive.  Mr.  Frank 
lin  was  in  no  mood  to  bear  with  this,  and  so 
promptly  ordered  him  to  leave  his  premises. 

The  overseer  took  him  at  his  word.  He  had 
drawn  his  year's  salary,  as  well  as  that  of  his 
family,  seventeen  hundred  dollars  in  all.  This, 
for  six  months'  service,  he  considered  very  good 
pay  ;  and  retired  well  content  with  his  part  of 
the  bargain. 

The  next  thing  Mr.  Franklin  heard  of  him, 
was,  that  he  had  bought  a  farm  on  Long  Island, 
for  which  he  paid  down  two  thousand  dollars 
cash.  And  he,  moreover,  learned,  that  he  had 


SOME    OF    THE    FRUITS.  89 

no  brother  in  the  country,  and  that  the  story 
of  the  endorsement  and  execution  was  a  mere 
fabrication,  in  order  to  get  an  advance  of  his 
salary,  preparatory  to  a  rupture  between  him 
and  Mr.  Franklin,  which  he  knew  must  come 
so  soon  as  the  eyes  of  the  latter  were  opened. 
And  opened  he  very  well  knew  they  would  be, 
ere  many  months  rolled  around. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SOME      OF     THE    FRUITS. 

THE  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that 
in  all  these  agricultural  experiments,  Edwin 
took  but  little  interest.  Far  more  of  his  time 
was  spent  in  gunning  and  fishing  than  in  study 
ing  into  the  mysteries  of  corn  and  potatoes. 
We  doubt  very  much  if  at  the  end  of  the  sea 
son  he  knew  whether  wheat  were  planted  in 
the  autumn  or  spring,  or  whether  potatoes  were 
propagated  from  seed  or  the  tubers.  But  in 
matters  of  woodcock  and  snipe,  sea  bass  and 
porgies,  he  was  all  right. 

Emancipated  from  the  slavery  of  a  counting- 
room,  lie  felt  a  high  sense  of  freedom,  and  en- 
8* 


90  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

ioyed  the  new  life  that  had  opened  befoie  him 
with  a  keen  relish.  Mr.  Franklin,  from  the  very 
nabit  of  his  mind,  entered  into  everything  ap 
pertaining  to  the  farm,  and  left  Edwin  but  little 
to  do  ;  and  that  little  was  of  but  trifling  impor 
tance.  Sometimes  when  he  happened  to  get  a 
few  new  ideas,  and  happened  at  the  same  time 
to  be  communicative,  he  would  give  his  son  a 
lecture  on  agricultural  chemistry  or  physiology, 
which  was  understood  about  as  well  as  if  spoken 
m  Hindoostanee.  The  next  hour  would  find 
the  young  man  buried  in  the  Mysteries  of  Eu 
gene  Sue,  Dumas,  or  some  other  French  novelist 
of  like  attractions ;  or,  with  his  gun  on  his 
shouldei  making  his  way  with  light  footsteps 
towards  >.he  fields  and  woods. 

As  for  companionship,  Edwin  enjoyed  nearly 
as  much  of  that  as  he  did  while  residing  in  the 
city.  His  gunning  and  fishing  expeditions  were 
not  conducted  on  the  solitary  principle.  Scarce 
ly  a  week  passed  that  some  young  friend  from 
New  York  did  not  come  over  and  spend  a  day 
or  two  with  him,  and  scarcely  as  long  a  period 
went  by  without  his  managing,  on  some  pre 
tence  or  other,  to  pass  a  night  or  two  in  the 
city.  Florence,  likewise,  had  her  congenial  vis 
itors,  and  nearly  as  often  as  Edwin  enjoyed  an 
evening  in  New  York. 


SOME    OF    THE    FRUITS.  91 

The  pretext  for  these  city  visits  was,  usually, 
the  pleasure  of  an  attendance  at  some  concert 
given  by  a  musical  star,  or  the  enjoyment  of 
some  other  attraction.  Mrs.  Franklin  never 
gave  her  consent  for  Florence  to  go  on  these 
occasions,  except  on  the  stipulation  that  Edwin 
should  accompany  her  to  the  theatre,  concert 
room,  or  other  place  of  public  amusement.  Lit 
tle  did  the  mother,  so  solicitous  and  so  fearful 
in  regard  to  her  children,  imagine,  that  by 
mutual  consent,  both  Edwin  and  Florence  sepa 
rated  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  city,  and  only 
met  at  the  time  appointed  for  return.  Florence 
went  to  the  house  of  some  one  or  other  of  the 
young  ladies  who  reciprocated  her  visits,  and 
her  brother  went  among  those  congenial  to  his 
taste  and  feelings.  Usually,  the  morning  found 
him  with  all  the  sad  evidences  of  a  night's  dis 
sipation  too  plainly  visible  to  any  attentive  eye. 

And  thus  the  summer  passed  away,  Mr. 
^ranklin  too  deeply  absorbed  in  his  model  farm 
ing  operations  to  have  any  eyes  for  the  rank 
weeds  that  were  springing  up  thickly  over 
the  ground  of  his  son's  mind,  and  threatening 
to  choke  every  good  plant  whose  leaves  were 
vainly  trying  to  lift  themselves  up  into  the  pure 
light  and  free  air.  The  mother  was  not  blind. 
She  saw  the  evil  in  a  part  of  its  fearful  magni- 


02  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

tude ;  but,  though  she  often  alluded  to  it,  she 
could  iiot  arouse  her  husband  to  a  sense  of  the 
real  danger. 

"  I  know  it  is  not  good,"  he  would  say.  "  A 
young  man  like  Edwin  should  not  have  so  much 
idle  time  on  his  hands.  But  we  must  hope  for 
the  best.  I  will  soon  find  plenty  for  him  to 
do." 

And  thus  he  would  put  her  off,  and  hidt 
from  his  own  mind  the  real  aspect  of  things. 

But  evil  weeds,  though  so  feeble  when  they 
first  spring  up  that  a  child  may  pull  them  from 
the  soil,  soon  push  their  roots  deep  into  the 
earth  and  spread  forth  seemingly  in  a  single 
day,  their  deforming  branches,  to  be  seen  and 
known  by  all.  And  so  it  is  with  evil  principles 
when  they  enter  the  mind.  If  met  in  their  in- 
cipiency,  and  thoroughly  eradicated  by  a  judi 
cious  application  of  the  right  means,  and  good 
seed  planted  and  well  cultured  at  the  same  time, 
they  will  remain  inert  and  harmless.  But,  left 
to  themselves,  they  will  quicken  into  life,  and 
take  entire  possession  of  the  soil  to  the  destruc 
tion  of  its  better  products. 

In  duu  time,  even  Mr.  Franklin  saw  that 
weeds,  instead  of  healthy  plants,  had  over 
grown  the  garden  of  Edwin's  mind;  and  when 
L-3  put  his  hand  upon  them  to  draw  them  from 


SOME    OF    THE    FRUITS.  93 

die  soil  they  burdened  and  deformed,  alas  !  he 
found  the  roots  too  deeply  imbedded ;  he  swept 
liis  hand  among  them  vigorously,  and  the 
spreading  branches  fell  on  all  sides ;  but  in 
falling,  they  cast  their  millions  of  seed  into  the 
ground,  while  their  roots  still  remained,  to  shoot 
forth  under  the  warming  sun,  and  fertilizing 
rain.  It  was  too  late  now. 

While  at  Saratoga,  evil  seed  fell  into  a  rich 
and  mellow  soil,  and  the  germination  had 
been  quick.  But  Mr.  Franklin  did  not  fully 
comprehend  the  danger  that  existed.  He 
imagined  that  there  had  been  some  slight  im 
prudence  ;  but  he  did  not  dream,  that  the  money 
spent  so  freely,  had  been  lost  among  his  young 
associates  at  cards.  But  it  was  even  so.  He 
had  lost  over  fifty  dollars  to  one  of  his  young 
companions,  and  then,  in  the  hope  of  recovering 
himself,  had  staked  his  due-bill  for  fifty  more, 
and  lost  again.  It  was  to  pay  this  "  debt  of 
honor,"  that  he  was  so  anxious  to  get  fifty 
dollars  from  his  father,  before  leaving  Saratoga. 
For  reasons  sufficiently  conclusive  to  himself, 
Mr.  Franklin  did  not  furnish  the  sum  desired. 
The  debt  was,  a  few  months  after  wards,  can 
celled  by  Edwin.  His  failure  to  meet  it  at  once, 
however,  subjected  him  to  an  insult,  that  his 
hot  blood  could  but  ill  brook,  and  came  near 


94  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

causing  a  serious  rencontre  with  the  "honorallt 
young  gentleman"  of  twenty,  who  had  played 
his  cards  so  skilfully. 

This  trip  to  the  Springs  brought  Edwin  into 
an  association  with  young  men  of  a  different 
stamp  from  any  he  had  before  met,  and  he  was 
just  weak-minded  enough  to  be  led  captive  by 
the  boldness  of  their  folly.  Aping  the  fashion 
able  vices  of  those  who  were  older,  they  were 
vain  enough  to  imagine  that  smoking,  drinking 
and  playing  at  cards,  were  manly  accomplish 
ments. 

If  Mr.  Franklin  had  been  in  business  at  this 
time,  he  would  not,  in  all  probability,  hav* 
taken  his  family  to  this  fashionable  watering 
place.  But  even  if  he  had  gone,  on  his  return  he 
would  have  had  the  means  in  his  hands  of  guard 
ing  his  son,  to  a  great  extent,  from  the  dangers 
that  now  lay  in  his  path.  Having  declined  the 
study  of  law,  he  would  have  taken  him  imme 
diately  into  his  own  establishment,  and  thus 
given  him  a  chance  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
business,  with  the  encouraging  prospect  in  his 
mind,  of  a  profitable  interest  in  that  business,  so 
soon  as  he  reached  his  twenty-first  year.  But 
this,  under  the  circumstances,  could  not  be 
done,  and  Edwin  was  placed  in  a  store  where  he 
became  assrciated  with  young  men,  who  soon 


SOME    OF    THE    FRUITS.  95 

drew  him  away  from  the  path  of  safety.  The 
daily  useful  work  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and 
the  respect  and  deference  that  he  naturally  paid 
to  his  employers,  had  a  restraining  influence. 
But  the  moment  he  was  set  free,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  he  could  do  pretty  much  as  he  pleased  ; 
that  he  was,  in  fact,  his  own  man  ;  the  dangers 
that  had  before  hovered  around  him,  became 
imminent.  The  mother  felt  this,  but  the  father 
was  too  much  interested  in  his  new  employment, 
*o  be  able  to  think  as  seriously  about  his  son,  as 
/ie  xiature  of  the  case  demanded. 

But  sober  action  brought  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Franklin  into  a  more  reflective  state.  No  longer 
so  much  absorbed  in  his  agricultural  doings  as 
to  be  unable  to  think  about  anything  else,  he 
became  aware,  among  other  unpleasant  things, 
that  Edwin  was  going  fast  astray.  His  appear 
ance  had  changed  very  much  in  a  few  months, 
and  he  bore  too  plainly  the  marks  of  evil  indulg 
ence.  Besides,  his  demands  for  money  were 
so  frequent,  as  to  make  it  necessary  at  times  to 
refuse  his  applications.  When  this  was  done, 
he  generally  exhibited  a  good  deal  of  indigna 
tion,  and  sometimes  went  off  to  the  city  and 
remained  from  home  two  or  three  days. 

A  request  for  seventy  dollars,  which  came 


96  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

soon  after  Mr.  Franklin's  rupture  with  liis  o\er 
seer,  and  at  a  time  when  he  was  in  a  most  dis 
satisfied  state  of  mind,  was  the  occasion  of 
turning  the  father's  thoughts  more  intently  upon 
his  son. 

"Seventy,  did  you  say?"  inquired  Mr, 
Franklin,  in  not  a  very  mild  tone  of  voice. 

"Yes  sir,"  replied  Edwin. 

"  You  spend  a  good  deal  of  money  for  a 
young  man  whose  bills  for  necessary  articles  are 
all  paid,"  remarked  Mr.  Franklin,  looking  seri 
ous.  "  I  have  before  said  that  I  disapproved 
such  prodigality;  and  have  before  done  what  I 
must  do  now,  refuse  to  supply  your  demand. 
If  I  am  not  in  error,  you  have  spent  four  or 
five  hundred  dollars  since  we  have  been  in  the 
country,  when  a  hundred  ought  fully  to  have 
satisfied  you.  I  am  afraid  everything  is  not 
right.  It  does'nt  look  well." 

O 

"  You  are  very  suspicious !"  replied  Edwin, 
speaking  in  a  tone  of  voice  that  his  father  felt 
to  be  insulting,  and  which  caused  an  indignant 
rush  of  blood  through  his  veins. 

"  Don't  forget  yourself,  young  man,"  said  Mr. 
Franklin,  sternly. 

"  I  hope  I  shall  never  do  that,"  was  coolly 
answered,  a  toss  of  the  head  at  the  same  time 


SOME    OF    ffiE    FRUITS.  97 

indicating  the  degree  of  respect  felt  by  the  son 
for  his  father. 

Mr.  Franklin  was  not  veiy  well  prepared  for 
anything  like  this.  Ev3n  undue  familiarity  he 
had  always  been  quick  to  repress  in  his  children. 
Insult  and  contempt,  so  plainly  exhibited  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  mistake,  threw  his  mind  into  an 
excitement  that  destroyed  all  rational  self-control. 

"Leave  my  presence,  instantly  !"  he  exclaim 
ed,  stamping  his  foot  upon  the  floor. 

Edwin  turned  frsm  him  and  left  the  house. 
A  little  while  after  he  was  seen  riding  towards 
the  city  on  horseback.  Mr.  Franklin  was  pain 
fully  disturbed. 

"  Has  it  come  to  this  ?''  he  said  to  himself, 
bitterly,  as  he  leaned  his  head  down  upon  his 
hands;.  "  Has  it  indeed  come  to  this  !  Not  yet 
twenty  years  of  age  and  so  far  advanced  on  the 
road  to  ruin !" 

Mr.  Franklin  avoided  saying  anything  to  his 
wife  about  what  had  just  occurred.  That  could 
do  no  good,  he  reasoned,  and  would  only  make 
her  unhappy.  As  for  himself,  from  the  moment 
of  that  interne w,  hio  peace  of  mind  was  gone. 
Edwin  had  exhibited  disappointment  and  anger 
at  previous  denials,  but  he  had  never  before 
shown  a  spirit  like  this.  He  had  never  before 
ventured  upon  insult. 
0 


98  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

GOING    ASTRAY. 

THREE  days  passed,  but  the  young  iuan  did 
not  return.  Before,  when  Edwin  thought 
proper  to  absent  himself,  Mr.  Franklin,  though 
strongly  urged  by  the  mother,  never  would  go 

after  him. 

"No,"  he  would  reply  to  all  her  solicitations. 
"  No.  Let  him  come  home  of  his  own  accord. 
Let  him  humble  down.  I'm  not  going  to  run 
after  him.  It  is  high  time  he  understood  where 
his  bread  comes  from." 

But  now  he  was  concerned.  His  eyes  had 
suddenly  opened.  He  saw  that  his  son  was 
making  false  steps,  and  that  swift  destruction 
was  before  him  if  not  checked  in  the  career 
upon  which  he  had  entered.  All  this  he  ought 
to  have  seen  before.  All  this  the  mother  had 
seen  with  a  troubled  heart;  and  she  had  in 
vain  striven  to  awaken  him  to  a  sense  of  the 

truth. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  his  son's  absence,  Mr. 
Franklin  went  into  the  city.  In  passing  one  of 
the  hotels,  he  saw  the  hostler  leading  to  the 
stable  the  horse  that  Edwin  rode  when  he  went 


GOING    AS1BAY.  99 

away.  He  immediately  entered  and  made  in 
quiries  for  his  son,  but  was  told  that  no  such 
person  was  there.  On  mentioning  the  horse  he 
had  seen,  he  was  told  that  it  belonged  to  one  of 
the  boarders.  With  this  individual  he  requested 
an  interview. 

"  Pardon  the  freedom  of  my  question,"  he 
said,  on  taking  the  stranger  aside  ;  "  but  will  you 
be  land  enough  to  tell  me  how  long  you  have 
been  the  owner  of  the  horse  that  I  just  saw  at 
the  door?" 

"  I  bought  him  day  before  yesterday." 

"  From  a  young  man  ?" 

"  No.  I  bought  him  at  a  stable  in  Franklin 
street." 

"  At  what  price  ?" 

The  individual  thus  questioned,  rather  hesi 
tated  to  answer.  He  did  not  exactly  like  to  be 
interrogated  so  freely  by  a  stranger. 

"  No  matter,"  said  Mr.  Franklin,  seeing  the 
effect  produced.  "The  stable  is  in  Franklin 
street  ?" 

"Yes  Sir."  And  the  precise  location  was 
described. 

"  May  I  take  the  liberty  of  inquiring  your 
name  ?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  Oh,  certainly  !"     And  the  name  was  given. 

Mr.  Franklin  bowed,  and  with  an  apology  for 


100  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

the  freedom  he  had  taken,  was  retiring,  when 
the  man  said  : 

"  Do  you  know  anything  that  is  not  right 
about  this  horse  ?" 

"  I  know,"  replied  Mr.  Franklin,  "  that  he 
was  mine  a  few  days  ago,  and  that  I  have  not 
sold  him." 

"  Ah  !     Was  he  stolen  from  you  ?" 

"  No.  My  son  rode  him  into  the  city  last 
week,  since  which  time  not  a  word  has  been 
heard  from  him.  Did  the  person  from  whom 
you  purchased  the  animal  say  anything  about 
the  manner  in  which  he  came  into  his  hands  ?" 

"  Not  a  word.  I  hired  the  horse,  and  liked 
him  so  well,  that  I  offered  to  buy  him.  The  price 
asked  was  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  I 
paid." 

"  Just  half  what  he  cost  me  as  a  match  horse. 
But  I  care  nothing  for  the  horse  now,  only  so 
far  as  he  furnishes  a  clue  to  the  discovery  of 
my  son,  who,  I  much  fear,  has  fallen  into  evil 
hands." 

"  If  you  will  accept  of  any  aid  in  my  power 
to  render  you,"  said  the  stranger,  "  it  will  be 
most  freely  given.  I  will  go  with  you,  forth 
with,  to  the  keeper  of  the  stable,  if  you  think 
it  of  any  use." 

"  It  may  be." 


GOINGf    ASTRAY,  101 

"  I  am  ready  to  go  with  you  at  once,"  was 
promptly  said. 

On  calling  at  the  stable,  Mr.  Franklin  learned 
that  the  horse  had  been  bought  from  the  son 
of  a  wealthy  citizen  residing  in  the  upper  part  of 
Broadway,  on  the  day  previous  to  his  being 
sold  to  his  present  owner. 

"  Will  you  give  me  the  name  of  the  young 
man?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin. 

There  was  some  hesitation.  But  the  name 
was  at  length  given. 

"The  son  of  P ?"  said  Mr.  Franklin, 

evincing  surprise. 

"  Yes  Sir.     It  was  Edward  P ." 

"  Ah  !  Was  it  that  young  man  from  whom 
you  bought  the  horse  ?"  remarked  the  person 
who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Franklin,  his  manner 
showing  equal  surprise  with  that  displayed  by 
the  other. 

"You  know  him?"  said  the  stable  keeper. 

"  I  know  no  good  of  him.  If  ever  a  young 
man  was  on  the  high  road  to  ruin,  he  is.  I 
wouldn't  be  his  father  for  all  the  wealth  he  pos 
sesses,  if  1  had  to  be  cursed  with  such  a  son." 

•:  I  have  seen  him  several  times,"  said  Mr. 

Franklin,  recollecting  that  Edward  P had 

visited  his  son  in  the  country  frequently  during 
the  summer,  and  that  they  had  often  gone  into 
9* 


iO!*  JXfiTIRtSG    FRpiJ   'J3USLNESS. 

the  city  together — "  but  I  had  no  suspicion  that 
his  character  was  so  bad.'' 

"  He  is  scarcely  twenty,"  was  replied,  "  but 
few  men  a  dozen  years  his  senior  have  as  many 
vices,  or  lead  so  evil  a  life." 

"  Is  his  father  not  aware  of  this  ?"  asked  Mr. 
Franklin. 

"  Heaven  only  knows !  If  he  is,  he  must 
have  a  heart  as  insensible  as  stone,  or  lay  his 
head  each  night  upon  a  thorny  pillow." 

"  It  takes  money  to  lead  a  reckless,  dissipated 
life.  Can  it  be  possible  that  Mr.  P fur 
nishes  it  to  him  at  will." 

"I  should  think  not.  P understand? 

as  well  as  any  one  the  value  of  money." 

"  Then  where  does  he  get  the  means  to  sup 
ply  his  extravagance  ?" 

"  You  have  become  cognizant  of  one  of  his 
money  raising  transactions." 

"  What  ?" 

"  The  sale  of  your  own  horse." 

"  But  how  came  the  horse  in  his  posses 
sion  ?" 

The  man  did  not  reply  immediately,  although 
it  was  plain  from  his  mannei,  that  he  had  an 
answer  to  the  question. 

"  Can  you  tell  ?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin,  after 
waiting  for  some  moments 


GOING    ASTRAY.  103 

"  I  can  only  conjecture." 

"  Even  conjecture  may  throw  some  light  on 
this  mysterious  affair.  Speak  freely." 

"My  conjecture  is,  that  he  has  by  some 
means,  card  playing  most  likely,  managed  to 
get  your  son  in  debt,  and  induced  him  to  trans 
fer  the  horse  to  his  possession  in  payment  of 
the  obligation." 

"  I  should  hardly  think  that  ?"  said  the  stable 
keeper,  with  an  uneasy  manner. 

"  It  may  not  be  so,"  returned  the  man,"  but  I 
fear  my  suggestion  is  very  near  the  truth.  I 
happen  to  know  a  case  where  this  was  done." 

«By  P ?" 

"  Yes." 

"Humph!" 

Mr.  Franklin  moved  away,  saying  as  he  left 
the  stable, 

"  I  must  see  Edward  P ,  immediately. 

For  your  kindness,  sir,"  addressing  the  stranger, 
"  accept  my  thanks." 

"  Will  you  do  me  the  favor,"  said  the  latter, 
"  to  let  me  know  the  result  of  your  investiga 
tions  in  this  unhappy  affair  ?  And  if  I  can  aid 
you  in  any  way,  it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure 
to  do  so." 

"  I  will  see  you  again,"  said  Mr.  Franklin,  as 
he  bowed,  and  hurried  away. 


104  RETIRING    FROM   BUSIWfiSS. 

Mr.  P ,  upon  whom  tlie  father  of 

Edwin  called  immediately,  had  not  seen  his  son 
since  the  day  before.  He  said  that  the  young 
man's  habits  were  very  irregu-Iar,  and  that  his 
conduct  caused  the  family  great  uneasiness. 
Mr.  Franklin  then  stated  fully  the  nature  of  his 
errand  to  the  city ;  and  the  discovery  he  had 
made  of  his  horse  in  the  possession  of  a 
stranger,  who  had  purchased  the  animal  from  a 
stable  keeper,  to  whom  he  had  been  sold  by 
young  P . 

"  How  came  your  horse  in  the  possession  of 
my  son  ?"  asked  Mr.  P 

"  I  do  not  know/'  replied  Mr.  Franklin.  "  But 
the  fact  that  he  was  in  his  possession,  shows 
that  your  son  has  some  knowledge  of  Edwin, 
and  for  this  reason  I  wish  to  see  him." 

"  Oh  dear !"  exclaimed  Mr.  P — — ,  rising, 
and  walking  about  uneasily.  "This  boy  will 
kill  me  !  I  have  spent  thousands  of  dollars 
upon  his  education,  and  here  is  the  result.  I 
believe,  after  all,  that  we  cannot  lay  a  heavier 
curse  upon  our  children,  than  to  give  them 
money.  The  poor  lad,  who  works  as  you  and 
1  did,  twelve  hours  a  day  for  his  plain  food 
and  ccaise  clothing,  is  really  happier  and  better, 
and  gives  more  promise  of  a  useful  and  pros 
perous  life,  than  the  sons  of  the  wealthy.  Oiw 


GOIXG    ASTRAY.  105 

children,  Mr.  Franklin,  are  the  drones  of  socie 
ty  !  Aye,  more,  in  some  cases,  than  drones." 

Mr.  Franklin  felt  that  this  was  true.  He  had 
never  reflected  much  upon  the  subject,  and 
therefore,  his  thoughts  had  not  previously  led 
him  to  such  a  conclusion.  Now  results,  flowing 
from  apparent  causes,  made  the  truth  plain. 

"  Money  is  a  curse  to  young  men,  rather  than 
a  blessing  !"  he  said,  half  to  himself.  "  That 
is,  if  they  are  not  engaged  in  some  useful  work." 

He  might  have  said,  a  curse  to  any  one  not 
so  engaged. 

"  Where  do  you  think  I  would  find  your 
son  ?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  I  cannot  tell ;  I  know  but  little  of  his  in 
comings  and  outgoings.  That  a  father  should 
say  this  !  But  it  is  even  so.  For  more  than  a 
year,  lie  has  acted  towards  me  with  a  kind  of 
insolent  independence,  which  has  stung  me  like 
the  fangs  of  a  serpent." 

Mr.  Franklin  replied  with  a  groan. 

"  He  is  frequently  in  company  with  a  young 
man  named  Welford,  whose  father's  store  is  in 

the  same  block  with  mine,"  added  Mr.  P . 

"  Perhaps  from  him  you  could  gain  the  infor 
mation  your  desire." 

"I  will  see  him  immediately.     All  I  hear, 


106  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

but  increases  my  anxiety.  What  a  sad  mistake 
I  have  committed  !" 

From  the  father  of  Welford,  he  learned 
that  the  three  young  men  had  gone  on  a 
fishing  and  pleasure  excursion,  and  would  not 
return  until  the  next  day.  This  information 
being  corroborated  in  one  or  two  other  quarters, 
Mr.  Franklin  had  to  go  home  that  evening,  un 
accompanied  by  his  son ;  with  what  feelings, 
the  reader  may  imagine. 

But  little  of  what  he  had  learned  could  be 
disguised  from  his  mother,  whose  anxiety 
through  the  day  had  been  very  great. 

On  the  next  morning,  Mr.  Franklin  went 
again  to  the  city.  But  he  returned  at  night 
without  having  seen  Edwin.  As  far  as  he  was 
able  to  learn,  the  party  of  pleasure  was  stiD 
absent.  On  the  third  day,  he  ascertained  that 
the  three  young  men  had  come  home  late  on 
the  previous  evening.  After  some  inquiry,  he 
was  informed  that  Edwin  was  at  one  of  the 
hotels  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  where  he 
found  him  about  twelve  o'clock.  The  young 
man's  countenance  fell  the  moment  he  saw  his 
father,  who  merely  said  to  him,  in  a  serious,  not 
angry  voice — 

"  Come,  my  son." 

Edwin  did  not  hesitate,  and  they  left  the  hotel 


GOING    ASTRAY.  107 

together,  proceeding  immediately  homeward, 
While  on  the  way,  Mr.  Franklin  said — 

"  Edwin,  I  find  that  the  horse  you  rode  to  th€ 

city  has  been  sold  by  Edward  P .  How 

came  he  in  possession  of  my  property  ?" 

A  deep  crimson  covered  the  young  man's 
face,  and  his  eyes  fell  to  the  ground.  After 
waiting  for  some  time  for  a  reply,  Mr.  Franklin 
added, 

"  As  I  shall  take  the  proper  step  to  recover 
the  horse,  I  wish  to  know,  beforehand,  the 

manner  in  which  Edward  P acquired  the 

right  to  dispose  of  him." 

"  I  owed  him  money,  and  he  took  the  horse 
in  payment,"  said  Edwin. 

"  But  he  had  no  rights  in  my  property  for 
your  debt.  Moreover,  both  you  and  he  are 
minors,  and  cannot,  legally,  make  such  trans 
actions.  How  carne  you  in  his  debt  ?" 

Edwin  was  silent. 

"  Did  you  borrow  money  from  him  ?" 

Edwin  hesitated  for  a  few  moments,  and  then 
replied  in  the  affirmative.  Mr.  Franklin  looked 
at  him  steadily,  until  his  eyes  fell.  The  father 
was  satisfied  that  his  son  did  not  tell  the  whole 
truth. 

"  How  much  did  you  owe  him  ?" 

"  Seventy  dollars." 


108  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

"  Was  that  the  price  at  which  he  sold  th* 
horse?" 

"He  received  a  hundred  and  twenty  fo/ 
him." 

"  And  paid  you  fifty  ?" 

"  Yes  Sir." 

"Where  is  that  sum?'' 

Edwin  was  silent. 

"  All  gone,  I  presume." 

There  was  no  answer. 

The  father  sighed  heavily,  and  for  the  rest  of 
the  way  home  they  rode  in  silence. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A    FALSE  STEP. 

So  signally  had  the  farming  expenment  ol 
Mr.  Franklin  failed,  that  he  was  completely  dis 
heartened,  and  abandoned  all  idea  of  agriculture 
as  a  calling  for  his  son.  In  fact,  the  latter  had 
shown  not  the  slightest  fancy  for  the  pursuit, 
and,  as  has  been  seen,  the  attempts  to  initiate 
him  into  the  art  and  mystery  appertaining 
thereto,  had  proved  entirely  abortive.  It  was 
therefore  determined,  that  he  should  go  back 


A    FALSE    STEP.  109 

again  into  some  mercantile  establishment.  But 
six  months  of  idleness  and  vicious  association 
had  completely  unfitted  the  young  man's  mind 
for  business.  He  could  not  submit  to  the 
drudgery  and  confinement  of  a  store  or  count 
ing-room.  Humbled,  in  some  degree,  on  ac 
count  of  his  conduct  in  selling  a  valuable  horse 
belonging  to  his  father,  in  order  to  satisfy  a 
debt  made  at  the  gambling  table,  Edwin  yielded 
to  the  wish  of  his  parents  to  take  his  old  place, 
which  was  still  open  for  him.  But  all  relish  for 
useful  employment  was  gone,  and  not  a  week 
passed  before  he  was  sighing  in  spirit  for  the 
freedom  he  had  laid  aside. 

It  was  Mrs.  Franklin's  desire  to  move  again 
into  the  city.  This  her  husband  opposed.  He 
wished  to  stay  where  he  was,  at  least  for  the 
winter.  He  thought  that  by  remaining  in  the 
country  during  the  coming  fashionable  season, 
they  would  be  able  to  keep  Florence  secluded. 

"It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,"  he  said, 
"  to  keep  her  out  of  the  fashionable  whirl,  until 
her  mind  gains  more  strength.  She  is  yet  too 
young  for  society — woman  as  she  thinks  her 
self." 

To  all  this  Mrs.  Franklin  readily  agreed,  but 
doubted  their  ability  to  seclude  her. 

"She  is  in  the  city  two  or  three  times  evrery 
10 


110  RETIRING    FROM    BI SINESS. 

week ;  and  she  will  continue  to  go,  unless  we 
lay  positive  commands  upon  her,  which  I  think 
we  should  avoid  doing.  And  she.  will  attend,  pro 
bably,  just  as  many  fashionable  entertainments 
as  if  we  were  hi  New  York.  This  being  so,  it 
would  be  much  better  for  us  to  be  living  there, 
for  then  no  reason  for  her  ever  remaining  all 
night  from  home,  would  exist  as  now." 

But  Mr.  Franklin  did  not  want  to  remove  into 
the  city  then,  and  therefore  the  reasoning  of 
his  wife,  which  was  very  clever  on  this  and 
other  subjects  connected  with  her  children, 
failed  to  have  any  effect. 

When  winter  set  in,  they  were  still  at  their 
seat  in  the  country.  Edwin  came  home  with 
tolerable  regularity,  while  the  season  remained 
pleasant ;  but  as  soon  as  the  cold  weather  set 
in,  he  became  less  and  less  punctual  in  his  re 
turn,  and  by  the  middle  of  January  did  not 
make  his  appearance  more  than  once  a  week. 
Florence  spent  at  least  half  of  her  time  in  New 
York,  against  the  wishes  and  remonstrances  of 
her  parents,  and  followed  there  a  gay  round  of 
fashionable  dissipation. 

By  mid-winter,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin  were 
almost  sleepless  with  trouble  about  their  two 
oldest  children.  The  former  regretted  not 


A    FALSE    STEP.  Ill 

having  moved  into  the  city  in  the  fall,  and 
openly  expressed  his  regret. 

"  Had  we  not  better  go,  even  at  this  late  pe 
riod  ?"  said  his  wife. 

"We  cannot  move  in  now,"  replied  Mr. 
Franklin. 

"  We  can  take  rooms  at  one  of  the  hotels  un 
til  spring." 

"  Yes,  that  could  be  done." 

"It  would  enable  us  to  have  Edwin  and 
Florence  more  directly  under  our  own  eyes. 
Things  as  they  now  are  distress  me  to  death. 
I  am  afraid  they  will  be  ruined." 

The  more  Mr.  Franklin  pondered  this  sug 
gestion,  the  better  he  liked  it,  and,  finally,  it 
was  decided  to  make  the  change.  A  little  to 
the  surprise  of  Mrs.  Franklin,  when  the  fact  was 
mentioned  to  Florence,  she  did  not  seem  much 
pleased,  and  from  that  time  appeared  thought 
ful.  Nor  did  Edwin  manifest  much  pleasure 
when  he  became  aware  of  the  fact. 

On  the  day  before  the  proposed  removal, 
Florence  went  into  the  city.  There  was  to  be 
an  entertainment  at  the  house  of  a  friend  of  the 
family,  in  which  she  was  desired  to  participate. 
She  went  in  the  carriage  as  far  as  the  ferry  at 
Hoboken,  and  then  passed  over  the  river  alone. 
As  the  ferry-boat  touched  the  landing,  a  gen- 


112  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

tleman  stepped  on  board,  and  looked  eagerly 
around.  A  moment  after,  and  Florence  was 
by  his  side. 

"  I  was  half  afraid  you  would  not  come.  I 
have  been  waiting  for  an  hour,"  he  said,  as  they 
went  quickly  from  the  boat. 

"  I  tried  to  get  away  sooner,  but  could  not," 
replied  Florence,  speaking  in  an  excited  voice. 

"  No  matter,  you  are  here  now."  And  as  he 
said  this,  he  handed  her  into  a  carriage. 

They  leaned  close  together,  and  conversed 
earnestly  while  the  carriage  moved  as  rapidly 
down  Greenwich  street  as  the  crowded  state  of 
that  thoroughfare  would  permit.  They  reached 
Jersey  City  ferry  just  in  time  to  join  the  pas 
sengers  for  the  south,  and  pass  over  the  river 
with  them.  At  the  depot  they  entered  the 
through  train  of  cars,  and  in  a  few  moments 
were  moving  swiftly  on  their  way  towards  Phila 
delphia  !  Strange,  yet  sad  coincidence — in  the 
car  next  to  the  one  in  which  Florence  was 
journeying  from  her  home,  sat  her  brother.  He 
was  also  taking  a  step  that  could  only  be  follow 
ed  by  repentance,  and  that,  perchance,  when  it 
was  too  late  to  be  of  any  avail.  Tl  ey  reached 
Philadelphia  without  meeting,  each  entirely  ig- 
Dorant  of  the  other's  proximity. 

Florence   had  eloped  with  Le   Grand,  and 


A    FALSE    STEP.  113 

Edwin  had  gone  south  in  company  with  a  man 
of  the  worst  character,  whose  only  object  in 
the  association,  was  the  hope  of  plundering  his 
}  oung  companion  of  money  that  he  knew  him  to 
have.  How  tnis  came  into  his  possession,  will 
appear. 

The  removal  of  Mr.  Franklin  from  the  city, 
instead  of  withdrawing  Florence  and  Edwin 
from  dangerous  associations,  had  only  left  them 
freer  to  enter  into  any  that  suited  their  fancy. 
Le  Grand  was  not  long  in  discovering  how  af 
fairs  were  situated,  nor  backward  about  taking 
advantage  of  them.  He  was  an  adventurer,  as 
Mr.  Franklin  had  correctly  inferred.  His  stock 
in  trade  was  a  good  education,  a  good  address, 
and  the  most  perfect  assurance.  His  business 
was  to  provide  himself  with  a  competency  by 
securing  a  rich  wife.  As  to  the  lady  herself,  he 
did  not  care  much  whether  she  were  young  or 
old,  wise  or  simple,  so  that  she  had  money. 
That  would  cover  all  defects,  if  any  existed. 

The  time-killing  visit  of  Mr.  Franklin  to  the 
Springs,  brought  Florence  under  the  eye  of  Le 
Grand,  and  he  saw  at  a  glance  that  she  was  to 
be  won,  if  worth  the  winning ;  careful,  yet  well- 
guarded,  inquiry,  satisfied  him  that  she  was  a 
prize,  He  then  made  his  observation  of  the 
father  and  mother.  The  old  gentleman  did  not 
10* 


114  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

please  him  very  well.  He  thought  he  sat? 
something  unbending  about  him.  But  he  was 
satisfied  that  the  mother  was  tenderly  attached 
to  her  children,  and  that  through  her  an  easy 
reconciliation  could  be  obtained,  if  he  should 
find  it  advisable  to  run  away  with  Florence. 
No  speculation  equal  to  this,  and  as  sure  of  suc 
cess,  presented  itself  to  Le  Grand.  After  due 
deliberation,  he  resolved  to  make  sure  of  the 
advantage  presented,  and  ere  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Franklin  took  the  alarm  and  retired  from  Sara 
toga,  he  had  whispered  tender  sentiments  into 
the  ear  of  the  weak  minded  girl.  During  the 
trip  to  Niagara,  these  were  repeated.  After  the 
return  tr  New  York,  he  managed  to  get  a  meet 
ing  with  Florence  about  once  a  week,  and  be- 

& 

fore  the  winter  was  half  over,  it  was  all  manag 
ed  between  them,  that  as  soon  as  she  had 
reached  her  eighteenth  year,  a  marriage  should 
take  place.  Once  or  twice  Le  Grand  called  ai 
the  house  of  Mr.  Franklin,  in  order  to  see  whaj 
impression  his  visit  would  make ;  but  the  second 
visit  satisfied  him  that,  with  all  his  pretensions 
to  wealthy  southern  connexions,  the  impression 
made  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Franklin,  was  most 
unfavorable. 

Florence  saw  no  particular  reason  for  waiting 
until  she  had  completed  her  eighteenth  year, 


A    FALSE    STEP.  115 

but  Le  Grand  was  not  disposed  to  take  so  im 
portant  a  step  without  having  as  many  chances 
in  his  favor  as  could  be  obtained.  The  legal 
age  of  his  wife,  he  considered  one  of  them. 

After  making  all  as  secure  as  possible,  the 
young  adventurer  went  south,  where  he  pursued 
a  certain  not  very  reputable  calling,  in  order  to 
supply  the  money  needful  for  present  wants ; 
returning  every  few  months  in  order  to  see 
Florence,  and  keep  bright  the  links  of  the  chain 
by  which  they  were  bound  together.  During 
his  absence,  they  corresponded  through  a  friend 
and  confidant  of  Florence,  in  the  city ;  and 
through  the  same  party,  with  whom  Florence 
spent  the  greater  part  of  the  time  when  she 
came  in  from  the  country,  their  interviews 
were  arranged,  when  Le  Grand  visited  the 
north.  The  removal  of  her  family  from  the  city 
favored  all  this  ;  and  it  so  happened  that  none 
of  those  who  saw  what  was  in  progress,  were 
disinterested  enough  to  give  the  parents  a  hint 
of  what  was  going  on. 

The  sudden  determination  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Franklin,  to  remove  to  the  city  in  mid-winter, 
alarmed  Florence.  She  feared  that  some  dis 
covery  of  the  relation  that  existed  between  her 
and  Le  Grand  had  been  made,  and  that  this  was 
one  of  the  steps  about  being  taken  to  interrupt 


116  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

their  intercourse.  She  wrote  to  her  lover,  who 
was  in  Baltimore,  and  he  came  on  immediately. 
Florence  had  just  completed  her  eighteenth 
year,  and  no  legal  difficulty  therefore  remained. 
Immediate  marriage  was  determined  upon,  and 
consummated  on  their  arrival  in  Philadelphia, 
after  the  flight  made  to  that  city. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TROUBLE    IN    EARNEST. 

WITH  a  far  less  buoyant  and  hopeful  spirit 
than  that  in  which  he  had  left  the  city,  did  Mr. 
Franklin  return  to  it.  On  his  way  to  the  hotel 
where  rooms  had  been  taken,  he  passed  his  old 
manufactory,  and  as  his  eye  fell  upon  it,  he 
sighed  involuntarily.  Nothing  had  gone  right 
since  his  retirement  from  business;  and  there 
was  a  sad  presentiment  at  his  heart,  that  the 
worst  was  yet  to  come.  He  felt,  it  is  true,  of 
much  more  consequence  in  the  world,  than  he 
did  while  in  the  daily  pursuit  of  a  useful  calling. 
(It  is  a  little  singular  that  a  feeling  of  self-im 
portance  is  strongest  in  men  who  are  of  the  least 
importance  to  the  social  well  being),  and  rather 


IROUBLE    IN    EARNEST.  117 

looked  down  upon  those  who,  either  from  choice 
or  necessity,  were  still  bending  at  the  oar. 

Mrs.  Franklin  sat  almost  crowding  in  a  corner 
of  the  carriage,  dreamily  pondering  the  future, 
but  seeing  little  light  in  the  sky  that  hung  over 
the  path  she  was  treading.  Her  greatest  anxi 
ety  was  for  Edwin.  She  did  not  know  all  the 
evil  of  his  life.  Indeed,  she  knew  but  little 
of  what  he  did,  or  where  he  went  when  away 
from  her  presence  ;  but  she  had  seen  enough  in 
his  face  and  in  his  whole  appearance,  when  at 
home,  to  leave  no  doubt  upon  her  mind,  that, 
young  as  he  was,  he  had  wandered  far  astray 
from  the  path  of  safety.  As  for  Florence,  she 
noted  a  change  in  her  during  the  past  few 
months.  She  had  ceased  to  be  so  restless  in 
the  country,  and  did  not  make  so  many  frivolous 
excuses,  in  order  to  get  to  the  city,  as  she  did 
during  the  summer  and  early  part  of  the  fall. 
Still,  she  spent  at  least  a  day  and  a  night  in 
New  York  every  week ;  and  appeared  to  have 
some  purpose  in  her  mind  for  doing  so,  beyond 
any  public  amusement,  or  social  pleasure.  This 
Mrs.  Franklin  remarked,  and  it  produced  a 
vague  state  of  uneasiness  that  entirely  destroyed 
her  peace. 

Neither  Mr.  nor  Mrs.  Franklin,  felt  very 
bappy  in  taking  possession  of  their  temporary 


118  RETIRING   FROM  BUSINESS. 

home  in  the  city.  All  day  long  the  mothei 
waited  in  expectation  of  being  joined  by  Flor 
ence,  and  as  hour  after  hour  went  by,  their 
constant  looking  for  her  appearance,  changed 
into  something  like  anxiety.  When  night  came, 
a  vague  fear  mingled  with  the  concern  she  felt. 

"  Strange,  that  Florence  does  not  come,"  she 
said,  for  almost  the  hundredth  time.  "  Can  it 
be  possible  that  she  has  mistaken  the  hotel  hi 
which  we  took  rooms  ?" 

This  was  scarcely  probable,  Mr.  Franklin 
thought. 

"What,  then,  can  keep  her  away.  I  told 
her,  particularly,  to  be  here  by  mid  day,  as  we 
would  certainly  be  in  by  that  time." 

N.either  could  make  any  satisfactory  sugges 
tions,  in  regard  to  her  absence.  After  night 
fall,  they  remained  in  momentary  expectation  of 
her  arrival,  but  the  hour  for  retiring  came,  and 
she  was  still  away.  It  was  then  too  late  to 
make  inquiries  for  her,  and  the  parents  went  to 
bed  with  troubled  feelings.  The  non-appear 
ance  of  Edwin,  was  also  a  disappointment  and 
caused  them  uneasiness. 

Early  on  the  next  day,  Mrs.  Franklin  called  on 
the  lady  with  whom  she  knew  Florence  spent  a 
large  portion  of  her  time  when  in  the  city, 


TROUBLE    IN    EARNEST.  119 

But  to  her  surprise  and  pain,  learned  that  her 
daughter  had  not  be^n  there, 

"She  came  in  day  before  yesterday,"  said 
Mrs.  Franklin,  "to  attend  Mrs.. Blake's  party, 
and  said  that  she  was  going  to  your  house  to 
dress." 

"  I  have  seen  nothing  of  her  for  a  week," 
returned  the  lady,  with  much  apparent  con 
cern  in  her  manner. 

"  You  have  not  ?'" 

"  No,  ma'am." 

"  Were  you  at  Mrs.  Blake's,  evening  before 
last  ?" 

"  I  was." 

"  And  was  noi  my  daughter  there  ?" 

"  I  believe  not." 

"  You  did  not  see  her  ?" 

"No  ma'am." 

Mrs.  Franklin  was  so  stunned  by  this  intelli 
gence,  that  it  was  some  time  before  she  could 
collect  her  mind  sufficiently  to  make  further  in 
quiries  of  the  lady.  Then,  in  answer  to  many 
questions,  she  gleaned  enough  to  satisfy  her 
that  Florence  had  been  frequently  in  com 
pany  with  a  young  man,  the  description  of 
whom  left  her  mind  in  no  doubt  touching  his 
identity.  And  she  was  also  satisfied,  that  the 
lady,  notwithstanding  her  apparent  ignorance 


120  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS, 

on  the  subject,  had  been  a  party  to  the  meet 
ing. 

With  a  sick  heart,  the  mother  went  back  to 
the  hotel  where  they  had  taken  up  a  temporary 
residence.  She  found  her  husband,  who  had 
gone  out  at  the  time  she  did,  to  see  about 
Edwin,  walking  the  floor  of  their  parlor  ra 
pidly,  and  in  a  state  of  deep  distress.  Their 
pale  faces  grew  paler,  as  they  looked  at  each 
other. 

"  Where  is  Florence  ?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin, 
with  much  anxiety  in  his  voice. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  replied  Mrs.  Franklin. 
"Where  is  Edwin?" 

'•  Gone." 

"  Gone  !     Where  ?" 

"  I  cannot  tell.     But  Florence  ?" 

"  She  has  not  been  at  Mrs.  K V 

«  No  ?" 

"  Nor  at  Mrs.  Blake's  party.  But  Edwin  ?" 
And  the  mother's  face  was  ashy  pale,  while  her 
lips  quivered. 

"  He  has  not  been  at  D &  L 's,  for 

a  month." 

Mrs.  Franklin  sunk  down  with  a  groan. 

"  Not  for  a  month !"  she  said,  in  a  low  heart 
breaking  voice.  "  My  poor  boy  !  He  is  lost  ! 


TROUBLE    IS    EARNEST.  121 

He  is  lost !  But  have  you  learned  notkng  of 
him  ?" 

"  Not  a  word.  I  hurried  home  to  hear  from 
you  the  tidings  from  Florence.  That  Le  Grand 
was  here  a  day  or  two  ago." 

"  And  she's  with  him,  I  fear,"  returned  the 
mother.  "  From  all  I  can  learn,  she  has  met 
him  frequently  during  the  last  few  months." 

"  Oh,  Heavens  !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Franklin, 
clasping  his  hands  across  his  forehead.  "  Has 
it  come  to  this !  My  children  !  My  poor,  un 
happy,  erring  children  !  Has  it  come  to  this  ? 
and  so  soon !" 

Just  then,  a  servant  came  to  the  door,  and 
handed  in  a  letter.  Its  post-mark  was  Phila 
delphia.  Mr.  Franklin  eagerly  tore  off  the 
envelope,  and  read. 

"  MY  DEAR  PARENTS  : 

"At  the  earliest  possible  moment,  I 
write  to  relieve  your  minds  of  the  anxiety  my 
unexpected  absence  cannot  have  failed  to  pro 
duce.  When  I  left  you,  it  was  with  the  inten 
tion  of  taking  a  step  that  I  could  not  hope  you 
would  approve ;  although  I  doubted  not  of  its 
correctness.  You  remember  Mr.  Le  Grand, 
whom  we  met  at  the  Springs,  and  whom,  at  one 
or  two  visits  subsequently,  you  treated  with  so 
much  coldness.  From  the  hour  of  our  first 
meeting,  we  have  entertained  a  mutual  attach 
ment,  and  have  been  ever  since  in  regular  cor- 
11 


122  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

respondence.  We  only  awaited  my  eighteenth 
year,  for  a  closer  union  than  already  existed 
between  our  hearts.  On  leaving  you,  I  met  him 
by  appointment,  when  we  proceeded  to  this 
city.  Yesterday,  our  marriage  was  duly  so 
lemnized,  and  we  now  tender  you  our  dutifal  and 
affectionate  regard. 

"  Mr.  Le  Grand,  as  you  know,  is  a  gentleman 
of  wealth,  and  connected  with  a  family  of 
distinction  in  the  south.  We  at  first  thought 
of  going  on  immediately  to  Charleston,  to  join 
his  friends,  but  knowing  how  anxious  you  must 
be,  we  have  determined  not  to  do  so  at  present, 
unless  you  turn  from  us  in  anger. 

"  Dear  Parents !  Forgive  what  seems  unkind 
and  undutiful  in  your  child.  She  could  not 
help  doing  what  she  has  done.  When  you 
come  to  know  Mr.  Le  Grand  as  well  as  she  does, 
you  will  be  the  last  to  say  that  she  did  wrong 
to  accept  the  offer  of  his  hand  and  heart.  Oh, 
let  me  hear  from  you  quickly.  I  shall  not  rest 
an  hour  until  I  know  that  you  forgive  me. 
Your  affectionate  and  dutiful 

FLORENCE." 

"  Dutiful !"  ejaculated  Mr.  Franklin,  as  he 
crushed  the  letter  in  his  hand. 

From  the  mother  there  burst  forth  a  wailing 
cry.  For  some  moments  she  writhed  her  body 
like  one  in  agonizing  pain.  Then  a  gush  of 
tears  came  to  her  relief,  and  she  wept  into 
calmness  a  wild  tempest  of  feeling. 


TROUBLE    IN   EARNEST.  123 

In  silence  the  unhappy  parents  sat  for  a  long 
time. 

"Write  for  her  to  come  home,"  said  the 
mother,  at  length  arousing  herself. 

Mr.  Franklin  made  no  answer,  but  arose  and 
began  walking  about  the  room  with  uneasy 
steps. 

"  Weak,  foolish  girl !  A  man  of  wealth  and 
family !  It  is  all  a  base  lie  !  He  is  a  deceiving 
scoundrel !"  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  father,  as 
he  paced  the  floor  of  the  room. 

"  It  may  not  be  so,"  suggested  Mrs.  Frank 
lin,  "  he  may  be ," 

"  It  is  so.  Men  of  character  never  steal 
away  the  daughters  of  wealthy  and  respectable 
citizens.  If  he  were  all  that  he  pretends  to 
be,  he  would  not  run  off  with  a  silly  young  girl ! 
Oh !  to  think  that  we  should  have  all  this  to 
suffer.  We,  of  all  others.  We  who  have  been 
so  anxious  and  so  careful  of  our  children  I" 

To  this  the  mother  did  not  reply.  She  felt 
that  they  had  been  to  blame.  She  had  a  heart- 
withering  consciousness  that  the  sin  lay  at  their 
own  door. 

"  Let  us  get  the  poor  child  home  as  quickly 
as  possible,"  said  Mrs.  Franklin,  after  her  hus- 
lymd  had  ceased  speaking.  "  If  Le  Grand  is  alj 


124  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

that  we  have  reason  to  fear  that  he  is,  Florence 
needs  to  be  under  our  own  protection." 

"  But  he  shall  not  cross  my  threshold  !"  re 
plied  Mr.  Franklin,  passionately. 

"  Can  we  separate  them  ?" 

"  They  must  be  separated,  if  Florence  comes 
back,"  said  Mr.  Franklin,  emphatically.  "  Take 
into  the  bosom  of  our  family  one  mean  and  base 
enough  to  entice  our  child  away,  and  marry  her 
without  our  knowledge  and  consent  ?  Oh  no  ! 
we  cannot  do  that." 

"  We  can  hardly  expect  Florence  to  return, 
if  we  refuse  her  husband,"  said  the  mother, 
with  much  seriousness. 

"  I  will  never  accept  him !"  replied  Mr. 
Franklin,  passionately. 

His  wife  said  no  more,  and  Mr.  Franklin  con 
tinued  his  restless  movements.  At  length  he 
stopped  suddenly,  saying — 

"  I  must  find  Edwin." 

And  without  further  remark  left  the  room. 
But  his  search  for  the  young  man  proved  un 
availing.  No  one  upon  whom  he  called, 
could  give  any  information  in  regard  to  him 
whatever  ;  and  he  returned  late  in  the  afternoon 
with  a  still  heavier  weight  of  trouble  upon  his 
heart. 


A    RETURN.  125 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

A    RETURN. 

ON  the  next  morning,  enclosed  in  an  envelope, 
Mr.  Franklin  received  a  notification  from  one  of 
the  banks,  that  his  note  for  five  thousand  dol 
lars  would  be  due  in  about  two  weeks. 

"  What  does  this  mean  ?"  he  asked,  in  sur 
prise.  "  I  have  no  paper  out.  Five  thousand 
dollars !  Strange !  I  must  see  about  this." 

And  off  he  went,  post  haste,  to  the  bank, 
and  requested  to  see  the  note  said  to  be  held 
against  him.  It  was  produced. 

"  Who  deposited  this  ?"  he  inquired. 

A  broker  in  Wall  street  was  named. 

Mr.  Franklin  went  to  the  broker  and  inquired 
of  him  the  name  of  the  party,  from  whom  it 
was  received. 

"  I  discounted  the  note  for  a  young  man  of 
wealth  and  standing  in  the  city,"  replied  th* 
broker. 

"  May  I  ask  his  name?" 

"  Have  ^ou  an  interest  in  knowing  ?"  inquired 
the  broker,  looking  curiously  at  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  I  have  ;  and  very  great  interest  in  knowing, 
as  my  name  is  on  the  note  as  dr.awer," 
11* 


126  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS. 

"  Your  name  !"  said  the  broker,  evincing  sur 
prise. 

"  "Will  you  now  inform  me  from  whom  you 
received  it  ?" 

"  I  received  it,"  replied  the  broker,  "  from  the 
son  of  old  Mr.  P ." 

"  From  Edward  P ?" 

"  Yes  Sir.  •  I  have  another  which  I  took  from 
him  three  or  four  days  ago,  of  the  same 
amount,  with  sixty  days  to  run." 

"Another!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  Yes  sir.  I  hope  there  is  nothing  wrong 
about  these  notes,  Mr.  Franklin.  I  should  be 
very  sorry  if  there  was.  I  supposed  it  was 
all  right." 

Without  reply,  Mr.  Franklin  turned  and  left 
the  office.  He  had  only  taken  a  few  steps  from 
the  broker's,  when  he  met  the  young  man  of 
•whom  they  had  just  been  speaking.  Edward 

P tried  to  pass  Mr.  Franklin  under  the 

appearance  of  not  seeing  him,  but  the  latter 
laid  his  hand  upon  his  arm  with  a  sudden  grasp. 
The  young  man  affected  to  be  surprised  and 
offended  at  the  rudeness,  but  Mr.  Franklin 
inteiTupted  an  angry  expression  by  saying, 
peremptorily, 

"  How,  sir,  did  you  come  in  possession  of 
ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  my  paper." 


A    RETURN.  127 

The  manner  of  Edward  changed,  and  he  said 
very  coolly — 

"  I  received  it  from  your  son," 

"From  Edwin  1" 

"  Yes,  from  Edwin."  And  he  looked  firmly 
at  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  It  is  strange  that  you  should  have  transac 
tions  with  my  son  to  that  amount,"  returned 
Mr.  Franklin,  as  soon  as  he  could  control  him 
self,  speaking  with  assumed  calmness.  "  Pray, 
on  what  account  did  you  receive  these  notes  ? 
What  was  the  value  conveyed  for  them." 

"  Pardon  me,"  returned  P ,  coolly.  "  But 

I  do  not  recognize  your  right  to  question  me  on 
this,  or  any  other  private  matter.  Enough,  that 
I  gave  him  value." 

Mr.  Franklin  looked  at  the  young  man  until 
the  eyes  of  the  latter  fell  beneath  his  steady 

gaze.  As  they  did  so,  Edward  P turned 

and  walked  away.  But  Mr.  Franklin  was  by 
his  side  in  a  moment. 

"  I  must  know  something  more  about  this 
matter,  young  man,"  he  said,  sternly. 

"  What  more  would  you  know  ?"  demanded 
Edward,  turning  with  a  look  of  defiance  upon 
Mr .  Franklin.  "  Did  you  not  draw  the  notes  ?" 

There  was  a  pause  on  both  sides. 


128  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

"  Or,"  added  P ,  with  a  measured    em 

phasis,  "  are  they  forgeries  ?" 

For  a  few  moments,  the  men  looked  at  each 
other  steadily.  Then  both  retreated  a  few 
paces,  and  walked  away  in  different  directions. 

Mr.  Franklin  was  more  than  satisfied.  The 
sad  intelligence  of  his  son's  criminality  fell  upon 

his  heart  with  a  crushing  force.     That  P 

was  an  accomplice  in  the  guilt,  and  took  the 
notes  as  forgeries,  he  did  not  for  a  moment 
doubt.  But  that  in  no  way  mitigated  the  pain 
so  dreadful  a  discovery  produced.  He  had 
walked  only  a  few  paces,  when  the  thought  that 
P might  be  able  to  give  him  some  infor 
mation  of  Edwin,  glanced  through  his  mind,  and 
he  turned  quickly  and  ran  after  him. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  where  my  son  is  at  this 
time  ?"  he  asked,  as  he  came  alongside  of 
P . 

"  I  cannot,"  was  replied. 

"  When  did  you  see  him  last  ?" 

P thought  for  a  moment,  then  said, 

"  Not  for  a  week." 

"  Can  you  direct  me  to  any  place  where  I 
would  be  likely  to  hear  of  him  ?" 

"  Yes.  I've  seen  him  frequently  at  No.  — , 
Broadway.  No  doubt  they  can.  tell  you  some 
thing  about  him  there." 


A   RETURN.  12& 

Mr.  Franklin  went  to  a  house  in  the  upper 
part  of  Broadway,  as  directed.  It  was  a  largd 
and  handsome  residence.  On  ringing  the  bell, 
a  servant  came  to  the  door.  Of  him  the  father 
inquired  for  Edwin,  but  the  servant  professed 
entire  ignorance  of  any  such  person,  and  Mr. 

Franklin  went  away,  satisfied  that  young  P 

had  purposely  deceived  him.  He  did  not  know 
that  this  was  a  club  house,  into  which  his  son 
had  been  introduced,  and  where  he  had  taken 
lessons  in  vice — an  apt  scholar. 

"  Ah !  Mr.  Franklin,"  said  a  voice  by  the 
side  of  the  wretched  father,  as,  with  his  eyes 
upon  the  ground,  he  was  slowly  passing  down 
Broadway.  He  looked  up  sadly,  and  recognized 
an  old  acquaintance. 

"  I  hope  you  are  all  safe  with  Clark  &  Ash- 
well,"  said  this  person,  not  waiting  for  any  of 
the  compliments  of  the  day,  "  for  I  understand 
they  were  protested  on  Tuesday." 

"Protested!" 

"  Yes.  And  it  is  said  the  failure  will  be  ft 
bad  one.  They  have  run  down  their  business 
terribly  since  it  went  into  their  hands.  The 
fact  is,  they  were  not  fit  to  carry  it  on.  But,  I 
hope,  as  I  said,  that  you  are  all  safe  with  them." 

"  Very  far  from  it.  They  still  owe  me  twen« 
ty  thousand  dollars," 


130  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  for  I  understand 
they  won't  pay  twenty  cents." 

"  Good  Heaven  !  What  can  they  have  been 
doing?" 

"  Meddling  in  stocks,  instead  of  attending  to 
their  legitimate  business." 

"  Oh  dear  !  Madness  !  Madness !" 

"Most  insane  conduct,3'  said  the  friend. 
"  With  a  proper  attention  to  business  they  were 
sure  of  a  fortune.  But,  instead  of  keeping  their 
goods  up  to  the  right  quality,  and  their  stock  as 
near  the  demand  as  possible,  they  killed  their 
business  by  a  poor  article,  and,  even  of  that,  no 
one  was  sure  of  getting  enough  for  his  regular 
orders.  I  quit  dealing  with  them  six  months 
ago,  and  depend  now  for  my  supply  on  the 
East.  And  I  know  several  other  houses  that 
have  done  the  same.  Every  one  in  the  trade 
has  regretted  your  retirement  from  business." 

"  Has  a  meetin^  of  the  creditors  been  called  ?" 

s 

\nquired  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  I  understand  there  is  to  be  one  to-morrow. 
\rou  will  attend,  of  course." 

"  I  presume  so." 

"  Get  back,  if  you  can,  the  establishment  they 
have  so  shamefully  mismanaged,"  said  the  ac 
quaintance,  speaking  earnestly,  "  and  put  life 
into  it  again.  Your  ability  and  enterprise  are 


A    RETURN.  131 

wanted  in  this  branch  of  business,  Mr.  Franklin. 
We  cannot  spare  you.  We  cannot  afford  to  let 
you  retire  from  active  service.  If  you  will  dc 
this,  you  need  not  sigh  for  the  loss  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars." 

Mr.  Franklin  made  no  reply  to  this,  although 
he  said  to  himself,  mentally — 

"  If  things  go  on  as  they  are  going  at  present, 
I  shall  be  driven  back  into  business  in  order  to 
get  bread  for  my  family.  I  was,  perhaps,  a 
fool  ever  to  have  left  it." 

With  a  heavy  heart  did  Mr.  Franklin  retuni 
to  his  wife. 

"Have  you  heard  from  Edwin?"  eagerly 
asked  the  latter,  as  he  entered. 

Mr.  Franklin  shook  his  head. 

"  Not  a  word  ?" 

"  Only  that  he  has  committed  forgeries  upon 
me  for  ten  thousand  dollars,"  replied  Mr.  Frank 
lin,  without  reflecting  upon  what  might  be  the 
consequences  of  such  an  abrupt  announcement. 

Had  a  ball  pierced  the  brain  of  the  unhappy 
mother,  she  could  not  have  fallen  more  sudden 
ly.  The  conduct  of  Florence  had  seemed  to 
her  more  than  she  could  bear.  This  intelligence, 
so  terrible  in  its  character,  and  coming  upon  her 
without  even  a  si  adow  of  warning,  snapped  the 


132  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

thread  of  endurance,  and  nature  sought  refug* 
in  total  unconsciousness,  from  a  worse  evil. 

On  recovering  from  this  state  of  bodily  and 
mental  paralysis,  Mrs.  Franklin  was  so  ill  as  to 
require  the  aid  of  a  physician.  Her  mind  par 
tially  wandered,  and  the  whole  physical  system 
was  prostrated.  To  other  causes  of  anxiety, 
Mr.  Franklin  had  now  added  the  liveliest  fears 
for  his  wife,  who,  as  day  after  day  went  by, 
seemed  rather  to  sink  under  the  pressure  thai 
was  upon  her,  than  to  gain  strength  to  throw  it 
off. 

In  the  mean  time  another  letter  came  from 
Florence,  addressed  particularly  to  her  mother, 
begging  for  a  word  to  say  that  she  was  forgiven. 
The  whole  tone  of  the  letter  showed  that  the 
silence  of  her  parents  deeply  distressed  her,  and 
that,  until  she  was  restored  to  favor,  she  could 
not  have  a  moment's  peace  of  mind.  Mr.  Frank 
lin  had  just  turned  from  the  bed  of  his  wife, 
after  having,  in  vain,  striven  to  fix  her  thoughts 
rationally  on  some  subject  of  minor  importance, 
when  this  letter  was  put  into  his  hands.  He  read 
it  almost  at  a  glance,  and  thei  tossed  it  from 
him  with  a  gesture  of  impatience.  An  hour 
afterwards  he  read  it  again,  but  with  different 
feelings.  What  they  were,  may  in  part  be 


A    RETURN.  135 

gathered  from  the  brief  answer  he  panned  to 
her  earnest  appeal. 

"  MY  DAUGHTER  : 

"  When  your  second  letter  came,  your 
mother  was  too  ill  either  to  read  it  or  under 
stand  it,  if  read  by  another.  Your  conduct, 
and  that  of  Edwin  is  killing  her.  If  you  wish 
to  see  her  alive,  come  home. 

"  YOUR  FATHER." 

A  more  cruel  epistle,  under  the  circumstan 
ces,  could  hardly  have  been  written.  But  Mr. 
Franklin's  feelings  were  excited  to  their  utmost 
tension,  and  he  was  scai  cely  responsible  for  his 
conduct. 

It  was  a  week  from  the  day  on  which  Flor 
ence  deserted  her  parents,  for  the  protection  of 
a  man  of  whose  real  principles  and  character, 
she  knew  nothing,  when  this  first  response 
from  home  came.  Le  Grand,  who  was  by  her 
side  when  she  read  it,  was  not  prepared  for  the 
wild  burst  of  grief  that  followed  its  perusal. 
He  tried  to  soothe  her,  and  spoke  words  of 
encouragement.  Florence  answered  these  by 
handing  him  the  letter,  and  saying  as  she  did 
so — 

"  Take  me  back  !  Oh !  take  me  back  quickly  !" 

Le  Grand  was  about  as  little  prepared  as  his 
young  wife,  for  this.  Here  was  a  result  upon 
which  neither  had  calculated.  A  brief  estrange- 


134  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

ment,  and  then  a  reconciliation.  This  had  been 
the  money  hunter's  confident  anticipation.  But 
here  was  the  promise  of  something  different. 
Should  the  mother's  illness  prove  fatal,  a  portion 
of  family  ti  ouble,  for  which  he  had  no  taste,  would 
come  with  the  fortune  of  his  wife.  In  the  old 
gentleman's  letter,  there  seemed  to  him  a  kind 
of  ferocity  that  argued  no  very  gentle  reception 
of  either  him  or  his  bride ;  and  he  proposed 
that  Florence  should,  on  their  arrival  in  New 
York,  rejoin  her  parents  alone.  To  this  she  had 
no  objection  to  make.  It  was  a  matter,  now,  of 
'indifference  to  her,  whether  her  husband  were 
with  her  in  the  meeting,  or  not.  She  thought 
only  of  her  mother,  whom  she  feared,  from  the 
tenor  of  her  father's  letter,  that  she  would  not 
find  alive. 

A  change  for  the  better,  had  taken  place 
during  the  period  that  elapsed  from  the  time 
Mr.  Franklin's  letter  was  despatched,  until 
Florence  was  enabled  to  reach  New  York.  The 
mother  had  just  been  reading,  for  the  third 
time,  the  last  communication  from  her  daughter, 
and  was  weeping  over  it,  when  the  door  of  her 
chamber  opened  quickly,  and  Florence  came 
rushing  in. 

"  Mother  !  Mother !"  she  exclaimed,  passion 
ately,  as  she  flung  herself  forward  upon  the  bed» 


A    RETURN.  135 

and  hid  her  face  upon  her  mother's  bosom, 
where,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  control  herself, 
she  lay  weeping  and  sobbing,  for  many  minutes. 
Mr.  Franklin  entered,  before  either  the  mother 
or  daughter  had  recovered  from  their  first  over 
mastering  emotion.  Florence,  whose  ear 
detected,  instantly,  the  step  of  her  father,  arose 
from  the  bed,  and  turned  to  him  with  a  timid, 
deprecating  look. 

"  Florence !"  he  said,  "but  in  a  tone  that  caused 
his  daughter  to  start  forward  and  throw  herself, 
with  a  fresh  gush  of  tears  into  his  arms.  Thus 
was  the  erring  one  forgiven ;  and  ej  3  the  day 
had  closed,  her  husband  was  received  as  a 
member  of  the  family,  and  with  a  much  better 
grace  than  even  he  had  anticipated.  He  knew 
not  all  the  causes  which  had  conspired  to  break 
the  will,  and  humble,  suddenly,  the  pride  of 
Mr.  Franklin.  Had  he  known  everything  at 
the  time,  he  would  have  felt  far  less  satisfied 
than  he  did,  at  the  result  of  his  speculation. 


136  RETIRING   FROM   BUSINESS, 

CHAPTER    XV. 

A    NEW    ENTERPRISE. 

MONTHS  elapsed,  but  there  came  not  a  word 
of  tidings  from  Edwin.  The  bills  to  which  he 
had  forged  his  father's  name,  amounting  to  ten 
thousand  dollars,  were  lifted  the  same  as  if  they 
had  presented  a  genuine  signature.  Few  un 
derstood  that  a  crime  had  been  committed,  and 
a  heavy  1  ss  sustained  in  order  that  it  might  be 
concealed. 

Clarke  &  Ashwell,  the  gentlemen  who  had 
purchased  Mr.  Franklin's  manufactory,  had 
been  permitted  by  the  creditors  to  continue  in 
business  under  an  extension  of  two  and  three 
years,  they  giving  their  notes  without  endorse 
ment,  for  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  of  the  claims 
held  against  them.  This  made  a  certain  loss 
to  Mr.  Franklin  of  ten  thousand  dollars  more, 
besides  putting  the  ten  thousand  to  be  paid  by 
Clarke  &  Ashwell,  in  an  exceedingly  doubtful 
position. 

Early  in  the  ensuing  spring,  the  model  farm 
was  sold  for  eighteen  thousand  dollars ;  seven 
thousand  less  than  it  had  cost  originally,  to  say 


A    NEW    ENTERPRISE.  137 

nothing  of  what  Mr.  Franklin  had  expended  in 
improvements  and  experimental  farming.  This 
latter  outlay,  had  been  nearly  five  thousand 
dollars.  Added  to  all  this,  came  a  loss  of 
twelve  thousand  dollars  invested  in  the  stock  of 
some  railroad  or  steamboat  company,  the  direc 
tors  of  which  wasted  the  entire  capital,  without 
effecting  the  objects  for  which  the  company 
had  been  chartered. 

Thus,  in  his  agricultural  experiments,  from 
losses  in  the  sale  of  his  manufactory,  and  from 
other  causes  just  stated,  one  half  of  Mr.  Frank 
lin's  handsome  fortune  had  been  lost  in  a  little 
less  than  two  years,  while  a  third  of  what  re 
mained,  was  in  Pennsylvania  stocks,  upon  which 
the  payment  of  interest  was  suspended  until  the 
State  could  have  time  to  replenish  her  exhausted 
coffers.  But  a  little  over  thirty  thousand  dol 
lars  of  productive  property  remained,  and  the 
income  from  this  was  not  more  than  sufficient  to 
meet  one  half  of  his  expenses. 

What  a  change  had  two  years  wrought  in 
every  thing  that  concerned  the  retired  gentle 
man  !  Property  had  passed  from  his  hands  so 
suddenly  and  in  so  unexpected  a  way,  that  no 
time  for  prudent  anticipation  of  the  result  was 
given.  His  children  had  gone  astray — one  of 
them,  he  feared,  hopelessly.  The  health  of  his 
12* 


138  RETIRING    PROM    BUSINESS. 

wife,  under  the  painful  affliction  she  had  suffer 
ed,  was  sadly  broken,  and  his  head,  in  which 
few  lines  of  silver  lay  when,  in  the  vigor  of 
manhood,  he  sought  ease  and  retirement,  was 
so  marked  with  white,  that  every  old  acquaint 
ance  whom  he  chanced  to  meet,  observed  it. 
And  the  home — how  sadly  was  that  changed ! 
Once,  every  evening  was  a  pleasant  re-union. 
Now,  the  members  sat  silent  when  they  met ; 
or,  ^  with  an  oppressive  sense  of  disquietude, 
passed  hours  in  the  solitude  of  their  own  apart 
ments. 

Florence  remained  in  the  family,  now  perma 
nently  removed  to  the  city.  The  true  character 
of  her  husband  showed  itself  more  and  more 
plainly  irom  the  first.  He  had  married  her 
trom  the  basest  of  motives,  and  had  used  gross 
deception  in  order  to  obtain  her  hand.  It  was 
not  possible  for  him  long  to  hide  from  the  fami 
ly  of  his  wife  the  real  quality  of  his  mind.  He 
was  thoroughly  unprincipled  and  selfish,  and 
this  none  could  help  seeing.  Mr.  Franklin  only 
tolerated  him  from  a  kind  of  necessity.  Imme 
diately  upon  the  fact  of  his  having  married 
Florence  becoming  known,  there  were  enough 
to  inform  the  father  of  his  character,  and  thug 
confirm  all  his  worst  suspicions. 

Only  a  few  month?  rolled  away  ere  Florence 


A   NEW    ENTERPRISE.  139 

had  evidence,  not  to  be  mistaken,  of  the  sad 
truth,  that  her  husband  was  not  all  he  had  pre 
tended  to  be — and  evidence  of  a  still  sadder 
truth,  that  he  had  never  loved  her  with  the  deep 
devotion  so  long  and  tenderly  avowed.  Cold 
ness  and  neglect  followed  quickly  on  his  dis 
covering  that  Mr.  Franklin  was  not  worth  one 
dollar  where  he  had  supposed  him  worth  five  ; 
and  that  there  was  but  little  hope  for  him,  even 
in  what  he  did  possess.  His  eagerness  to  get 
money  through  Florence,  on  one  pretence  and 
another,  in  due  time  made  it  apparent  to  her 
eyes  that  he  had  deceived  her  in  regard  to  his 
wealth ;  and  the  fact  that  he  talked  no  more 
of  his  family  in  the  South,  and  never  received 
letters  from  them,  made  it  very  doubtful  to  her 
mind  if  he  had  any  relatives  there  whatever. 

Still  Le  Grand,  for  very  shame,  kept  up  a 
certain  appearance  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Franklin. 
He  had  been  deceived ;  or  rather,  he  had  de 
ceived  himself.  He  had  entered  into  a  marri 
age  speculation,  certain  of  the  highest  success ; 
but  the  speculation,  considering  the  character 
of  his  anticipations,  had  turned  out  a  failure. 
He  was  united  for  life  to  a  young  and  silly  girl, 
with  whom  his  mind  found  no  companionship  ; 
and  the  connexion  brought  none  of  the  external 
advantages,  without  which  it  could  not  be  any 


140  HETIRIXG    FROM    BUSINESS, 

thing  but  intolerable.  In  order  to  supply  him 
self  with  the  means  of  self  indulgence,  he  found 
it  necessary  to  pursue  still  his  old  trade,  and 
this,  with  other  causes,  took  him  from  home 
frequently,  and  prolonged  his  absence,  when 
away,  sometimes,  for  weeks. 

To  his  absence,  neither  the  father  nor  mother 
of  Florence  had  any  objection,  for  his  presence 
to  them  grew  every  day  more  and  more  intolera 
ble.  But  Florence,  even  though  she  felt  that 
he  did  not  love  her  truly,  looked  even  with 
anxious  hope  for  his  return. 

Le  Grand  had  not  yet  made  any  direct  appli 
cation  to  Mr.  Franklin  for  niuuCy.  During  the 
first  few  months,  he  had  contented  himself  with 
ascertaining,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  precise 
extent  of  his  wealth,  and  calculating  the  chances 
in  favor  of  his  obtaining  a  liberal  supply  of  cash 
for  his  own  purposes.  But  after  the  lapse  of 
six  or  eight  months,  he  thought  it  time  to  make 
an  effort  to  reap  the  advantages,  if  any  were  tc 
come  from  his  marriage.  The  occasion  of  put 
ting  this  determination  into  practice,  was  one 
calculated  to  modify  very  greatly  the  feelings 
of  Mr.  Franklin.  By  some  accident  Le  Grand, 
while  on  a  short  professional  tour  at  the  South, 
discovered  that  Edwin  was  in  Mobile.  He  im 
mediately  sought  him  out,  made  known  the 


A    NEW   ENTERPRISE.  141 

relation  which  lie  bore  to  him,  and  used  such 
arguments  and  persuasions  as  finally  induced 
the  young  man,  who  was  acting  as  a  sort  of 
stool  pigeon  to  a  noted  gambler,  and  who  was 
by  this  time,  heartily  sick  of  the  life  he  was 
leading,  to  return  home.  Immediately  Le 
Grand  wrote  to  the  father  of  Edwin,  and  magni 
fied  to  the  utmost  extent  the  trouble  he  had 
taken,  at  the  same  time  that  he  pictured  most 
vividly,  the  condition  in  which  he  had  found  the 
young  man. 

Naturally  Mr.  Franklin  was  grateful,  and 
when  Le  Grand  returned  with  his  long  wan 
dering  but  now  repentant  son,  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  there  should  be  a  considerable 
change  in  his  feelings.  He  looked  upon  Le 
Grand  as  a  benefactor  ;  and  in  this  new  light  he 
could  see,  or  imagined  he  could  see,  higher  and 
more  generous  traits  of  character  in  the  young 
man,  than  he  had  before  believed  him  to  pos 
sess. 

Le  Grand  was  quick  to  perceive  the  impres 
sion  I-  e  had  made,  and  he  understood  very  well 
how  to  take  advantage  of  it.  No  one,  not  even 
the  father,  could  be  more  watchful  over  the  re- 
penUnt  Edwin,  who,  having  tasted  some  of  the 
bitter  fruits  of  evil,  was  little  inclined  for  a 
second  repast.  He  was  home  a  great  deal,  and 


142  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

made  all  possible  efforts  to  win  good  opinions 
from  every  member  of  the  family.  After  awhile 
he  began  to  talk  about  the  necessity  of  Edwin's 
being  in  some  business.  All  agreed  in  this. 
Then,  at  a  fitting  moment,  he  mentioned  the 
fact,  that  he  had  been  for  five  years  in  an  ex 
change  broker's  office,  and  was  thoroughly  ac 
quainted  with  the  business.  By  well  directed 
approaches  he  got  Mr.  Franklin  to  feel  an  inte 
rest  in  the  subject  of  money  and  stock  ex 
changes;  and  related  numerous  instances  of 
fortunes  having  been  made  in  an  almost  incredi 
ble  space  of  time.  Finally,  when  he  saw  his 
way  clear,  he  suggested  to  Mr.  Franklin  the 
propriety  of  putting  him  and  Edwin  in  the  busi 
ness. 

The  losses  which  Mr.  Franklin  had  sustained, 
produced  two  effects.  It  made  his  mind  less 
clear  by  disturbing  it,  and  created  a  desire  to 
recover  himself  by  some  shorter  way  than  he 
had  at  first  arisen  to  wealth.  He  was,  there 
fore,  prepared  to  listen  to  Le  Grand's  represen 
tations,  and  to  ponder  them  seriously. 

"  How  much  capital  will  it  take  ?"  he  at 
last  inquired  of  his  son-in-law. 

"  Ten  thousand  dollars  will  be  ample,"  was 
the  prompt  answer. 

"  Would  twenty  thousand  double  the  profit 


A    NEVT    ENTERPRISE. 

of  the  business  ?"  further  asked  Mr.  Franklin 
of  his  son-in-law. 

"It  would  treble  it,"  was  answered  as 
promptly. 

"  You  are  certain  of  that  ?"  said  Mr.  Frank 
lin. 

"  We  cannot  be  absolutely  certain  of  anything. 
But  such  is  the  relation  between  capital  and 
profit  in  this  business.  The  heavier  the  capital, 
the  larger  tho  productive  ratio.  But  ten 
thousand  dollars  is,  perhaps,  as  large  a  cash 
capital  as  it  would  be  prudent  to  operate  with 
at  first.  As  we  grow  familiar  with  the  business 
as  it  now  stands,  more  might  be  brought  in  and 
used  as  occasion  offered, 

Le  Grand  gained  his  object.  Mr.  Franklin 
advanced  the  capital  asked  for  to  place  Edwin 
and  his  son-in-law  in  business,  on  condition  that 
he  was  to  have  a  third  interest  for  the  use  of  his 
capital,  and  to  be  an  irresponsible  and  unavowed 
partner  in  the  concern. 


144  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  RESULT. 

IN  due  time,  an  office  in  Wall  Street  waft 
opened,  and  a  sign  exposed,  bearing  the  words, 
"  FRANKLIN  &  LE  GRAND,  BANK  NOTE,  STOCK, 
AND  EXCHANGE  BROKERS."  The  business  of  the 
new  firm  did  not  open  with  much  activity.  Le 
Grand,  for  all  his  givings  out  in  regard  to  his  early 
experience  in  the  business,  had  a  good  deal  more 
to  learn  than  his  associates  imagined.  But  he  had 
a  quick,  shrewd  mind  ;  and  having  entered 
upon  the  only  game  he  ever  expected  to  play 
against  his  father-in-law,  he  did  not  mean  to 
lose  it  for  want  of  the  science  requisite  to  play 
It  well.  He,  therefore,  mingled  freely  with  the 
money  changers  of  the  street,  and  gathered  up 
knowledge  at  every  point,  even  while  he  at 
times  affected  to  be  imparting  information.  Ihc 
more  he  learned,  the  more  satisfied  did  he  be 
come  that  he  was  entering  a  field  that  promised 
a  richer  harvest  than  he  at  first  supposed.  A 
small  capital,  and  the  credit  of  his  father-in-law, 
put  it  into  his  power  to  control,  in  the  end,  large 
sums  of  money,  and  to  turn  the  golden  current 
at  a  fitting  time,  into  his  own  hands. 


THE    KESULT,  145 

Two  or  three  months  passed  before  things 
looked  at  all  encouraging.  By  that  time,  how 
ever,  Le  Grand  began  to  comprehend  more 
clearly  the  operation  of  cause  and  effect  in  the 
money- world,  and  to  understand  the  movements 
of  the  wheels  within  wheels,  and  the  under 
currents  hidden  from  all  eyes  but  those  initiated. 
Then  he  began  to  play  his  cards,  and  with  the 
success  that  usually  attends  the  sharp  sighted 
and  unscrupulous  among  the  class  of  men  with 
whom  he  had  become  associated. 

Edwin,  since  his  return  home,  had  become 
really  changed.  The  wild  speed  with  which 
he  had  run  a  course  of  folly,  launched  him  sud 
denly  into  crime,  and  consequent  shame  and 
wretchedness  to  one  so  young.  The  remem 
brance  of  all  he  had  suffered  while  away,  re 
mained  too  vivid  in  his  mind  to  leave  much  de 
sire  to  court  old  acquaintances,  or  to  indulge  in 
old  follies.  After  the  office  was  opened  in 
Wall  Street,  he  was  engaged  there  the  greater 
part  of  the  day,  and  the  new  interest  going  into 
business  awakened,  kept  his  mind  from  wander 
ing.  Mr.  Franklin  was  at  the  office  almost 
every  day,  and  thus  had  Edwin  under  his  own 
eye  for  a  large  portion  of  the  time. 

As  soon  as  the  business,  under  the  impetus 
given  to  it  by  Le  Grand  the  moment  he  under- 
13 


146  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

stood  how  to  make  operations  beyond  mere 
money  exchanges  and  draft  collections,  began 
to  she  w  encouraging  results  for  the  present  and 
to  promise  handsomely  for  the  future,  Edwin's 
mind  felt  an  increased  interest.  The  love  ot 
gain  was  excited,  and  this,  being  an  end  in  his 
mind,  saved  him,  when  old  allurements  presented 
themselves,  from  falling  into  temptation.  There  is 
a  power  that  sustains  in  good,  and  protects  from 
evil,  in  all  useful  employments,  when  pursued 
with  affection ;  and  so  far  as  Edwin  was  con 
cerned,  the  business  was  useful.  The  scheming 
and  dishonest  purpose,  were  all  with  Le  Gran^ 
who  adroitly  concealed  from  Mr.  Franklin  and  his. 
son  the  meditated  wrong  of  any  skilful  operations. 

Gradually  Le  Grand  ventured  into  deeper 
and  deeper  water,  and  leagued  himself  with 
bolder  spirits.  His  transactions  became  larger 
and  the  profits  greatly  increased.  Mr.  Frank 
lin,  before  a  year  had  passed,  became  so  dazzled 
by  the  results  of  his  son-in-law's  money  opera 
tions,  that  he  not  only  ventured  nearly  all  he 
was  worth  in  the  business,  but  gave  the  use  of 
iiis  name  to  almost  an  equal  amount. 

Connexions  were  next  formed  with  brokers  in 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  Charleston,  New  Orleans, 
Cincinnati,  and  St.  Louis,  and  every  effort 
nade  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  the  business 


THE    RESULT.  147 

community,  in  order  to  secure  as  large  a  share 
as  possible  of  the  business  of  collecting  drafts. 
Long  before  this,  Mr.  Franklin  was  fairly  off  his 
feet,  and  carried  along  the  road  to  wealth  with 
a  velocity  that  rather  alarmed  him  at  times. 
But  every  day,  Le  Grand  talked  of  their  suc 
cess,  and  predicted  so  confidently  for  the  future, 
that  he  was  forced  to  stifle  all  misgivings.  His 
ignorance  of  the  business,  and  lack  of  the  bold 
and  comprehensive  spirit  of  Le  Grand,  gave 
the  latter  the  most  unlimited  control  in  every 
thing,  and  enabled  him  to  direct  affairs  in  any 
channel  that  suited  his  purpose. 

For  two  years  Le  Grand  conducted  the  busi 
ness  in  this  dashing  way,  and  with  a  success 
that  even  surprised  himself.  His  connexion 
with  Franklin,  who  was  believed  to  be  worth 
much  more  than  he  really  was,  had  given  him 
the  command  of  almost  unlimited  credit,  and 
upon  this,  as  well  as  upon  the  real  capital  they 
possessed,  he  finally  proceeded  to  carry  out  the 
purpose  from  which  he  had  never  wavered. 

His  first  operation,  in  the  last  scene  of  the 
drama  he  was  playing,  was  to  draw  drafts  upon 
New  Orleans,  Charleston,  Cincinnati,  and  St. 
Louis,  in  sums  of  one,  two,  or  three  thousand 
dollars  each,  and  get  them  discounted.  The 
proceeds  were  turned  into  gold  immediately,  and 


148  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

shipped  to  Cuba,  in  a  vessel  on  the  eve  of  sail 
ing.  In  this  way,  he  raised  about  sixty  thou 
sand  dollars,  and  got  it  out  of  the  country. 
Then  he  made  sales  of  a  large  amount  of  stock, 
in  which  they  had  invested  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  converted  the  money  into  sight  bills 
on  London,  Paris,  and  Antwerp.  The  final  ope 
ration  was  to  borrow  at  various  sources,  forty 
thousand  dollars  on  the  day  previous  to  tho 
sailing  of  a  Liverpool  steamer  from  Boston,  and 
to  give  the  checks  of  the  firm  dated  four  or  five 
days  ahead,  or  due-bill  memorandums,  for  the 
amount.  All  this  was  done  within  a  week.  Le 
Grand  then  coolly  announced  his  intention  of 
going  to  Boston,  to  see  after  some  affairs  there, 
connected  with  the  business  which  required  per 
sonal  attention.  Not  the  slightest  suspicion 
was  awakened,  as  the  reason  assigned  for  going 
was  a  good  one,  and  there  were  no  preparations 
made  for  a  longer  absence  than  two  or  three 
days. 

Pleasantly,  as  if  he  were  to  return  in  a  week, 
did  Le  Grand  bid  his  young  wife  good  bye,  and 
bend  over  playfully  and  kiss  the  babe  that  lay 
asleep  in  her  arms.  Then,  with  his  carpet  bag 
in  his  hand,  as  though  he  sought  \o  attract 
attention,  he  jumped  into  a  cab  and  rode  down 
to  the  Boston  boat. 


ALL    LOST.  14& 

On  the  next  day  when  the  Atlantic  steamer 
sailed,  he  was  on  board,  and  safely*  off  for 
Europe. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

ALL    LOST. 

ON  the  morning  after  Le  Grand  left,  a  brokei 
came  into  the  office,  and  asked  for  him.  Edwin 
said  that  he  had  gone  to  Boston. 

"Ah!  I'm  sorry  for  that,"  returned  the 
man,  with  a  slightly  disappointed  air.  But  per 
haps  you  can  do  what  I  want  just  as  well.  Yes 
terday,  I  loaned  Mr.  Le  Grand  eight  thousand 
dollars,  for  three  or  four  days.  Unexpectedly, 
I  am  drawn  upon  for  fifteen  thousand,  at  sight, 
and  shall  be  hard  put  to  it  to  make  up  the  sum 
unless  I  can  get  you  to  return  me  the  money,  I 
let  you  have  yesterday.  Do  you  think  you  can 
do  it  ?" 

"  Oh  yes :  I  presume  so,"  replied  Edwin, 
promptly.  And  he  referred  to  the  cash 
book,  and  found  that  the  balance  on  deposit 
was  ten  thousand  dollars.  Without  taking  time 
for  reflection,  he  drew  a  check  and  handed  it  to 
13* 


150  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

the  broker,  who  returned  the  memorandum 
which  Le  Grand  had  given  him. 

Ten  minutes  afterwards,  the  broker  reappear 
ed  and  said,  in  a  way  that  rather  amazed  both 
Edwin  and  his  father, 

"  There's  no  money  in  bank." 

"  Who  says  so  ?"  inquired  Edwin,  in  a  quick 
voice. 

"  The  teller." 

"Another  of  his  blunders,"  remarked  Mr. 
Franklin,  impatiently. 

The  check  book  was  again  referred  to.  The 
balance  stood  then  at  ten  thousand  dollars. 

"  Come  over  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  I'll 
have  the  money  here  for  you,"  said  Edwin. 
"  It's  a  mistake  of  the  book-keeper,  I  presume." 

The  man  retired,  and  Edwin  went  immediate 
ly  over  to  the  bank. 

"  You've  made  another  mistake,"  he  said  to 
the  teller,  a  little  fretfully. 

"  How  so  ?"  was  inquired. 

"  Why,  you  refused  our  check  for  eight  thou 
sand  dollars,  when  we  have  a  balance  of  ten 
thousand  on  deposit." 

The  teller  went  to  the  book-keeper,  who 
turned  to  Franklin  &  Le  Grand's  account.  As 
it  stood  on  the  Deposit  Ledger,  there  was  aD 
over  draft  of  five  hundred  dollars. 


ALL   LOST.  151 

"  Impossible !"  said  Edwin,  when  tliis  was 
announced.  "  It's  a  mistake." 

The  book-keeper  footed  the  two  columns  of 
figures,  and  struck  the  balance  once  more. 
The  balance  was  the  same. 

"  Will  you  send  over  your  bank  book  and  let 
me  balance  it  ?"  said  he  to  Edwin.  "  By  that 
means  the  error,  wherever  it  is,  will  appear. 
There  is  a  check  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  charged  yesterday." 

Edwin  went  back  to  the  office,  and  again  ex 
amined  the  check-book.  No  such  check  as 
that  mentioned  by  the  book-keeper  was  noted 
there.  The  balance  of  ten  thousand  dollars  ap 
peared  in  Le  Grand's  figures. 

This  discovery  produced  on  the  mind  of  both 
Mr.  Franklin  an  I  his  son,  a  sense  of  uneasiness. 
Edwin  went  over  to  the  bank  and  asked  to  see 
the  ten  thousand  dollar  check.  It  was  genuine, 
and  drawn  by  Le  Grand. 

Eight  thousand  dollars  had  been  loaned  and 
over  ten  thousand  dollars  checked  out  of  bank 
on  the  eve  of  Le  Grand's  departure  for  Boston, 
and  no  memorandum  of  either  transaction  could 
be  found.  Mr.  Franklin  did  not  like  the  appear 
ance  of  this.  Although  Le  Grand  managed 
affairs  pretty  much  in  his  own  way,  a  regular 
system  of  entries  had  always  been  observed. 


152  RETIRING-    FROM    BUSINESS. 

"  Well .  Have  you  discovered  the  error  ?* 
said  the  broker,  from  whom  the  eight  thousand 
dollars  had  been  borrowed,  coming  in  soon  after 
Edwin  returned  from  the  bank. 

"  Not  yet,"  replied  the  young  man,  evasive- 

iy- 

The  broker  looked  at  him  for  a  moment  half 
suspiciously,  while  the  word 

"  Strange  !"  came  in  a  low  tone  from  his 
lips. 

"  What  is  strange  ?"  asked  Mr.  Franklin,  who 
was  standing  beside  the  counter,  compressing 
his  lips  and  looking  steadily  at  the  man,  whose 
manner  fretted  him. 

"  Strange  that  such  a  mistake  should  be 
made  !"  replied  the  man,  with  a  smile. 

"  It  is  not  the  first  time  mistakes  have  occur 
red  in  that  branch,"  said  Edwin.  "  We  shall 
have  our  book  settled  up  immediately,  when  the 
error  will  appear.  I  am  sorry  that  it  has  hap 
pened  to-day,  for  it  will  prevent  my  returning 
you  the  borrowed  money.  But  this  will  not,  I 
hope,  be  of  much  inconvenience  to  you.  To 
morrow  Mr.  Le  Grand  will  be  home." 

Edwin  spoke  in  a  decided  tone.  The  man 
said  he  was  sorry,  lingered  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  withdrew. 

"  I  don't  like  the  appearance  of  this,"  remark- 


ALL    LOST.  155 

ed  Mr.  Franklin,  as  soon  as  they  were  alone,  and 
liis  face,  as  well  as  the  expression  of  his  voice, 
were  serious. 

"  He  could  have  no  use  for  money  in  Boston," 
said  Edwin. 

"  None  of  which  I  can  conceive." 

As  Mr.  Franklin  said  this,  he  stepped  to  the 
fire-closet  and  took  out  the  large  pocket-book  in 
which  bills  and  drafts  were  kept,  and  commenced! 
searching  through  it  with  nervous  haste.  The 
act  seemed  prompted  by  a  sudden  thought. 
Twice  he  opened  every  pocket,  and  examined 
every  paper  contained  therein.  When  the 
search  was  completed,  he  turned  with  a  pale 
face  and  a  quivering  lip  to  his  son,  and  said  in  a 
hoarse  whisper, 

"  We  are  betrayed  and  ruined !" 

"  How  ?     How  ?"  eagerly  asked  Edwin. 

"  Not  one  of  the  notes  for  that  large  sale  of 
stock  are  here !" 

"  Impossible !"  exclaimed  Edwin,  catching  up 
the  pocket-book  which  had  fallen  from  his 
father's  hands,  and  hastily  examining  its  con 
tents. 

"  Gone  as  I  live  !" 

"  Perhaps  they  are  in  his  desk.  He  may  have 
forgotten  to  put  them  in  the  fire  proof,"  said 
Mr.  Franklin,  clutching  at  this  hope. 


154  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

Edwin  went  to  Le  Grand's  private  desk.  It 
was  locked,  as  usual.  Without  hesitation  the 
young  man  forced  it  open.  But  the  notes  were 
not  there,  nor  could  they  be  found  in  the  office. 

"  Seventy  thousand  dollars  in  his  possession  !" 
said  Mr.  Franklin,  "and  heaven  knows  how 
much  more.  All  is  lost.  We  are  betrayed  and 
ruined  !  ruined !  ruined  !" 

And  the  father  unable  to  control  himself 
under  the  sudden  shock  of  a  discovery  that  ar 
gued  such  a  sweeping  disaster,  stood  trembling 
from  head  to  foot.  Edwin  was  calmer,  although 
he  had  the  most  oppressive  fears. 

"  Let  us  not  betray  our  alarm  to  others,"  said 
he,  seeing  how  strongly  his  father  exhibited 
what  he  felt.  He  may  return  to-morrow,  and 
if  so,  he  can  explain  all  this,  and  none  need  be 
the  wiser  of  it." 

"  Explain !  Return !  Edwin  !  I  tell  you  all  is 
lost ;"  replied  Mr.  Franklin,  exhibiting  terrible 
agitation.  "  The  English  steamer  sails  to-day 
at  noon,  and  he  goes  in  her.  Oh !  that  I  should 
have  been  so  weak — so  ruined  !  "  And  he 
struck  his  hand  against  his  forehead,  like  one 
half  beside  himself. 

Just  at  this  moment,  the  broker  before  men 
tioned,  whose  suspicions,  from  some  cause,  had 


ALL   LOST.  155 

become  excited,  re-entered  the  office,  and  heard 
Mr.  Franklin's  closing  remark. 

"  Without  doubt,"  said  he,  "  your  suspicions 
are  correct,  for  I  have  just  learned  that  during 
the  last  few  days  he  has  been  a  heavy  pur 
chaser  of  London  and  Paris  bills  of  exchange.'* 

"  London  and  Paris  Exchange !"  responded 
Edwin. 

"  Yes,  sir.  Have  you  had  any  use  for  such 
funds  in  your  regular  transactions  ?" 

Both  the  father  and  son  were  too  much  con 
founded  by  this  intelligence  to  be  able  to  as 
sume  even  a  prudent  reserve.  Edwin  acknow 
ledged  that  he  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
foregoing  exchange  purchase. 

This  was  enough  for  the  broker.  He  retired, 
and  in  half  an  hour  it  was  in  every  one's  mouth 
in  Wall  Street,  that  Le  Grand  had  gone  off  in 
the  steamer,  a  defaulter  to  a  very  serious 
amount.  The  moment  this  became  current, 
there  were  dozens  to  press  forward  and  give  in 
telligence  of  transactions  had  with  him  during 
the  preceding  four  days,  which  completely  ex 
tinguished  every  lingering  hope  in  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Franklin  and  his  son.  They  were,  indeed, 
betrayed  and  ruined. 

The  shock  of  this  disaster  was  too  severe  for 
Mr.  Franklin.  The  fortune  for  which  he  had 


156  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

toiled  so  many  years,  and  upon  which  he  had 
fondly  hoped  to  spend  happily,  in  ease  and  re 
tirement,  the  remaining  days  of  his  life,  was 
swept  away  as  a  leaf  before  the  blast.  It  was 
hopelessly  gone ;  and  now,  with  age  stealing 
on  him,  and  all  the  ardent  hopes  of  early  man 
hood  extinguished,  he  found  himself  penni 
less.  He  could  not  bear  up  under  the  pres 
sure  of  this  calamity ;  and  there  was  a  time 
when,  in  the  deep  melancholy  that  succeeded, 
his  family  became  sincerely  alarmed  for  his 
reason. 

Edwin  was  left,  unsustained,  to  meet  the 
shock  which  followed  the  certain  intelligence 
that  Le  Grand  had  left  the  country  with  his 
booty.  A  position  so  new  and  trying  for  one  so 
young,  and  we  might  add,  for  one  so  weak, 
developed  a  strength  of  character  that  no  one 
supposed  him  to  possess.  Two  years  of  earnest 
attention  to  business,  had  not  been  lost  on  him. 
He  was  able  in  the  settlement  of  affairs  to  pre 
sent  clear  statements,  and  to  show  the  precise 
nature  and  extent  of  his  partner's  defalcations 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.  Every  one 
felt  commiseration  both  for  himself  and  his 
father,  and  after  Edwin  had  resigned  everything 
in  the  shape  of  property  in  his  possession,  he 
urged  the  creditors  to  give  him  a  release  fupm 


ALL    LOST.  15*7 

the  heavy  balance  that  remained.  None  ob 
jected  to  this,  as  it  was  deemed  utterly  useless 
to  hold  a  young  man  like  him. 

In  order  to  give  every  facility  to  the  business, 
Mr.  Franklin  had  converted  his  entire  property, 
with  the  exception  of  the  dwelling  he  occupied, 
into  cash,  and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
specious  villain  who  was  bent  on  his  ruin. 
He  also  endorsed  the  notes  of  Franklin  and  Le 
Grand  to  a  large  amount.  When  the  crash 
came,  at  least  thirty  thousand  dollars  of  paper 
was  bearing  his  name.  The  holders  of  this 
seized  his  dwelling,  which  was  sold  for  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  and  he  was  forced  to  retire, 
with  his  unhappy  family,  into  obscurity,  with 
no  visible  means  of  obtaining  for  them  even 
the  absolute  necessaries  of  life.  Through  the 
efforts  of  Edwin,  whose  mind  seemed  to  grow 
clearer  and  more  energetic,  a  release  was  obtained 
for  his  father,  after  this  remnant  of  his  property 
had  been  given  up.  Even  the  most  selfish 
pitied  him,  and  cancelled  the  hopeless  claima 
lk<j  held  against  him. 


14 


158  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

INTO  BUSINESS,  AND   AGAIN    USEFUL  AND    HAPPT. 

LESS  than  five  years  had  elapsed,  since  Mr. 
Franklin  retired  from  business,  possessing  a 
fortune  of  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

He  was  now  a  poor  man,  and  what  was  worse, 
utterly  spiritless  and  despondent.  The  moment 
he  understood  that  he  was  totally  ruined  in 
fortune,  his  hands  fell,  listlessly,  by  his  side,  and 
there  they  continued  to  hang. 

Poor  Florence !  With  the  rest  of  the  family, 
there  had  come  to  her  a  restoration  of  confi 
dence  in  Le  Grand.  He  had  changed  much 
since  business  proved  successful ;  and  as  her 
mind  matured  into  womanly  strength,  it  fixed 
itself  with  a  deeper  affection  upon  him,  as  her 
husband.  The  birth  of  a  child,  threw  a  new 
and  stronger  chord  around  her  heart,  and  bound 
her  to  the  father  of  her  babe  «with  a  purer  love 
than  she  had  ever  known. 

And  the  mother  of  Florence.  She,  too,  had 
felt  the  reviving  sunshine.  A  happier  prospect 
for  the  children,  who  had  strayed  from  the  right 
way,  was  opening.  The  clouds  which  had 
threatened  to  break  in  desolation  upon  their 


isrro  BUSINESS  AGAIN.  15$ 

heads,  had  passed  over,  and  a  boon  of  promise 
was  in  the  sky. 

Upon  all  this  love,  and  hope,  and  fond  antici 
pation  for  the  future,  came  a  blasting  shock. 

On  Florence,  who  had  grown  older,  and  could 
realize,  in  its  fullest  extent,  the  calamity  that 
had  fallen  upon  them,  its  effects  were  of  the 
saddest  kind.  For  a  short  period,  her  reason 
yielded  beneath  the  pressure  of  grief ;  and  when 
her  mind  grew  clearer  again,  she  sunk  into  a 
melancholy  state,  from  which  no  efforts  could 
for  a  time  arouse  her.  The  mother,  too,  gave 
way  for  a  while  to  despondent  feelings  ;  but  the 
conduct  of  Edwin  soon  brought  back  her  mind 
to  a  healthier  state,  and  she  nerved  herself  for 
the  new  duties  that  new  circumstances  had 
brought. 

The  spectacle  that  his  father  presented,  after 
the  full  extent  of  the  wrong  they  had  suffered 
from  Le  Grand  was  known,  touched  the  heart 
of  Edwin,  and  filled  him  with  a  desire  to  sustain 
the  family,  if  possible,  by  his  own  unaided 
efforts.  He  comprehended  to  some  extent,  the 
terrible  disappointment  he  had  suffered  in  the 
loss  of  his  property  ;  and  the  sight  of  his 
drooping  form,  and  fixed,  almost  passionless 
face — as  if  all  hope  in  the  world  were  gone 
from  his  heart,  affected  him  deeply. 


160  RETIRING    FROM    BUSINESS. 

After  the  affairs  of  the  late  business  were 
settled,  one  of  the  creditors,  who  had  observed 
the  young  man  closely  during  the  progress  of 
the  trying  scenes  through  which  he  was  obliged 
to  pass,  saw  that  he  possessed  not  only  a  good 
knowledge  of  money,  but  was  quick  and  intelli 
gent.  Being  in  want  of  just  such  a  person,  he 
offered  him  a  situation  in  his  office  at  a  salary 
of  eight  hundred  dollars,  which  Edwin  gladly 
accepted. 

The  humbled  and  spiritless  family  had  retired 
from  their  elegant  home,  into  a  part  of  a  small 
house,  where  it  might  almost  be  said,  as  liter 
ally  true,  they  shrunk  together  in  silence  and 
tears.  Their  only  income  was  Edwin's  salary, 
and  this  the  young  man  faithfully  devoted  to 
their  support.  To  the  heart  of  the  mother, 
such  a  change  in  her  son  from  what  he  had 
been  two  years'  before,  was  like  dew  to  the 
parched  ground,  and  it  strengthened  her  to  bear 
the  many  burdens  now  laid  upon  her. 

"  If  this  were  needed  to  save  him,"  she  said 
to  herself,  while  reflecting  on  the  subject,  "then 
1  welcome  the  reverse  as  a  blessing." 

Such  being  her  feelings,  Mrs.  Franklin  was 
not  long  in  rising  into  something  like  a  cheerful 
state  of  mind,  though  all  around  her  was  so 
sadly  changed. 


INTO    BUSINESS    AGAIB'.  161 

Six  or  eight  months  elapsed,  before  the  pros 
trate  mind  of  Mr.  Franklin  began  to  rally 
The  burden  of  supporting  the  whole  family 
was  upon  Edwin,  and  one  day  when  the  mothej 
alluded  to  this  fact,  Mr.  Franklin  said, 

"  He  is  a  good  boy.  But  it  is'nt  right  to  lei 
all  rest  upon  his  shoulders.  I  can  yet  do  some 
thing.  My  mind  is  still  clear  and  my  health 
unbroken ;  I  ought  not  to  be  idle.  No  man 
can  be  happy  in  idleness.  Oh  !  If  I  had  com 
prehended  this  five  years  ago." 

There  was  an  instant  glow  in  the  heart  of  Mrs. 
Franklin.  Her  husband  was  coming  back  into 
a  more  healthy  state,  and  she  felt  that  all  might 
yet  be  well  with  them. 

"If  all  were  to  do  something,  his  burden 
would  be  lighter,"  returned  Mrs.  Franklin.  "  One 
should  not  be  made  to  sustain  the  whole.'7 

Mr.  Franklin  said  nothing  in  answer  to  this  ; 
but  his  thoughts  took  a  new  direction. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  an  old  business  ac 
quaintance  met  him  on  the  street.  Mr.  Frank 
lin  was  about  passing  on,  but  the  man  stopped 
him. 

"  What  are  you  doing  now  ?"  was  almost  the 
jrst  inquiry. 

"  Nothing,"  replied  Mr.  Franklin. 

"  Nothing  !"  said  the  old  acquaintance,  in  a 
14* 


l62  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

tone  of  surprise.  "  A  man  who  has  nothing  to 
do,  cannot  be  happy." 

"  I  am  not  happy,"  was  replied  with  more 
feeling  than  Mr.  Franklin  intended  to  exhibit. 

"  You  were  one  of  Clarke  &  AsliwelTs  credi 
tors  ?" 

"  Yes.  But  they  won't  pay  anything.  I 
joined  in  the  extension  and  reduction  granted 
them ;  but  even  the  first  payments  under  this 
arrangement,  have  not  been  made." 

"Do  you  still  hold  their  paper ?" 

"  Oh  yes.     But  it  is  not  worth  a  copper." 

"  I  am  not  so  certain  of  that.  T  saw  Clarke 
only  this  morning,  and  he  spoke  of  you." 

"  Of  me  ?     What  had  he  to  say  of  me  ?" 

"  Why,  for  one  thing,  that  it  was  a  great 
pity  you,  who  understood  the  business  so  well, 
and  was  conducting  it  so  successfully,  should 
ever  have  given  it  up." 

"  We  agree  in  that  view,"  replied  Mr.  Frank 
lin.  "  It  was  the  greatest  folly  1  ever  commit 
ted  ;  and  severely  have  I  been  punished  there 
for." 

"  He  said,  moreover,  that  he  and  his  partner 
had  determined  to  abandon  it;  and  are  now 
preparing  to  call  another  meeting  of  creditors, 
in  order  to  resign  everything  into  their  hands.' 

"Ah?" 


INTO    BUSINESS    AGAIN.  163 

"  Yes.  And  he  said,  furtjier,  that  if  you  had 
not  parted  with  your  claim  against  the  firm,  it 
was,  in  his  opinion,  the  best  thing  the  creditors 
could  do  to  place  the  whole  establishment  in 
your  hands,  at  a  fair  valuation,  and  let  your 
claim  of  ten  thousand  dollars  go  cent  per  cent 
hi  part  payment ;  and  I  as  one  of  the  creditors, 
fully  approve  the  suggestion.  You  can  restore 
the  business,  because  you  understand  it ;  and, 
besides  saving  your  debt  of  ten  thousand  dol 
lars,  pay  the  other  claimants  a  great  deal  more 
than  they  would  otherwise  receive." 

A  proposition  so  unexpected,  bewildered  the 
mind  of  Mr.  Franklin,  when  first  made. 

"  Are  you  agreed  to  such  an  arrangement  ?" 
said  the  man. 

"  It  would  be  strange  if  I  were  not,"  replied 
Mr.  Franklin.  "  But  you  will  not  find  the  other 
creditors  as  ready  as  you  to  make  it." 

"  It  would  be  strange  if  they  were  not,"  was 
inswered  with  a  smile.  "  But  leave  that  to  me. 
Just  say  that  you  are  willing  to  take  hold  of  the 
business  again  upon  the  best  terms  that  can  be 
made  for  you,  and  I  will  push  through  an  ar 
rangement  that  will  be  satisfactory  to  all  par 
ties." 

"  You  can  depend  upon  me,"  said  Mr.  Frank 
lin,  with  a  brightening  face.  "  Give  me  back 


164  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

my  old  establishment,  and  I  will  be  a  happy 
man  again." 

"  And  a  useful  man.  Very  well.  In  a  week 
or  two,  I  hope  to  see  you  at  work  again,  and  in 
a  fair  way  of  retrieving  your  fallen  fortunes." 

"  That  I  have  no  expectation  of  doing.  A 
man  who,  at  my  age,  loses  his  property,  rarelj 
recovers  it  again.  But  it  will  give  me  the  abili 
ty  to  make  my  family  comfortable.  Beyond 
that,  my  desires  at  present,  do  not  go  very  far." 

Almost  like  a  dream  passed  the  events  of  the 
next  two  or  three  weeks.  The  creditors  of 
Clarke  &  Ashwell  met,  and  without  a  dissenting 
voice,  agreed  to  the  proposition  made  in  regard 
to  Mr.  Franklin.  The  establishment  was  valued 
at  a  certain  price,  and  sold  to  its  former  owner 
on  easy  terms,  the  claim  he  still  had  being  ad 
mitted  in  part  payment. 

How  changed,  soon,  became  every  thing  about 
Mr.  Franklin  and  his  family.  Once  more  en 
gaged  in  a  useful  employment,  the  countenance 
of  the  former  lost  in  a  short  time,  its  drooping, 
troubled  aspect.  The  returns  of  his  labor  were 
not,  at  first,  very  great,  for  the  whole  business 
had  been  sadly  run  down,  and  all  the  machinery 
and  appliances  of  the  establishment  were  in  dis 
order.  Many  expenses  not  anticipated,  had  to 
be  incurred,  which  took  all  the  profits  that  were 


INTO    BUSINESS   AGAIN.  165 

for  some  time  made.  But  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Franklin  was  so  much  interested  in  what  he  was 
doing,  and  he  saw  so  clearly  a  prosperous  re 
sult  of  his  labor,  that  these  draw-backs  brought 
no  discouragement. 

At  the  end  of  a  year,  he  was  able  to  pay  the 
first  instalment  of  purchase  money,  as  agreed 
upon,  and  to  remove  his  family  into  a  more 
comfortable  home.  Before  the  end  of  another 
year,  the  second  payment  was  anticipated,  and 
the  business  had  so  grown  upon  his  hands,  that 
he  found  the  service  of  a  clerk  necessary,  and 
took  his  son  James,  now  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  into  the  establishment.  Edwin  had  given 
so  much  satisfaction  to  his  employer,  that  about 
the  same  time  he  was  offered  an  interest  in  the 
business.  Under  the  advice  of  his  father,  the 
offer  was  accepted. 

Slowly  but  steadily,  the  family,  through  useful 
industry,  rose  again  into  the  enjoyment  of  all 
the  true  comforts  that  wealth  can  bring.  Time 
gradually  brought  back  to  Florence  that  peace 
of  mind  to  which  she  had  long  remained  a 
stranger.  As  her  mind  grew  calm  and  clear 
once  more,  she  was  able  to  extinguish  the  regard 
she  had  once  felt  for  a  man  whose  base  heart 
possessed  no  quality  that  a  woman  could  love. 
Towards  her  child,  a  beautiful  boy,  she  turned 


166  RETIRING    FROM   BUSINESS. 

the  whole  current  of  her  affections,  and  lore 
here  met  an  adequate  return.  Le  Grand  never 
came  back  to  trouble  her. 

Mr.  Franklin  is  still  pursuing  with  ardor  and 
success  his  business,  which  is  rapidly  growing 
under  his  hands.  He  is  once  more  a  useful  and 
happy  man ;  and  while  strength  of  mind  and 
body  are  given,  will  never  think  of  retiring.  A 
remembrance  of  the  unhappy  period  hi  which 
he  sought  rest  from  labor  will  ever  remain  too 
vivid  in  his  recollection  to  leave  him  in  danger 
of  again  committing  that  folly. 


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